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Pentagon: Petraeus Isn't Going Anywhere

Papers said he'd leave by the end of the year

By Kevin Spak, Newser Staff

Posted Feb 16, 2011 9:45 AM CST

(Newser) – The Pentagon moved quickly today to quash reports that it’s looking to replace David Petraeus by the end of the year. “Despite some sensational speculation by one of the London papers, I can assure you General Petraeus is not quitting,” a Pentagon spokesman said in a statement. “Obviously he will rotate out at some point, but that point has not yet been determined and it will not occur any time soon.”

The “London paper” in question is the Times, which reported last night that the Pentagon was hunting for a successor to Petraeus. Earlier in the day the Washington Post reported that Petraeus would rotate out at the end of the year, the Huffington Post notes. Of course, by the end of the year Petraeus will have spent 18 months in Afghanistan, the normal rotation for the post, the Guardian observes.

NATO commander in Afghanistan US Gen. David Petraeus speaks during a joint news conference with German Defence Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg in Berlin, Germany, Tuesday, Nov. 23, 2010. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn)

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Pentagon: Petraeus Isn't Going Anywhere

Papers said he'd leave by the end of the year

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