Perspective: Timing of extended deployment announcement took Petraeus by surprise

BAGHDAD, Iraq – The timing of the announcement raising the standard length of active Army Iraq deployments to 15 months took the U.S. commanding general in Iraq by surprise, according to a senior U.S. military official here.

Army Gen. David Petraeus, commander of the U.S. military operation in Iraq, learned of the change in policy during a briefing from his staff the morning after the Defense Department announcement, according to the senior military official. However, the official added, he was “pretty confident” that the content of the announcement did not come as a shock to Petraeus.

“I don’t see this as being a complete surprise,” he said.

“It was a surprise to everyone [in Baghdad] because of the time zone difference,” the official said. “They announced it at 1500 [in the Pentagon], which is 2300 here. The surprise was they announced it when everyone [here] was asleep.”

Read the rest at Army Times