Lt. General Known as "King David" Appointed to Take Charge in Baghdad

Ralph Peters/TN : Jan 5, 2007
The New York Post

"The Kurds called him 'Malik Daoud' — King David — as a mark of respect."

Lt. General Dave Petraeus, one of the U.S. Army's most-impressive leaders, has just been appointed to take charge in Baghdad. Calling Petraeus a "brilliant talent" and the greatest peacekeeping general in the world, reporter Ralph Peters says: "With back-to-back tours of duty in Iraq behind him and the most-positive image among Iraqis of any U.S. leader, military or civilian, Petraeus is a natural choice. His intelligence, drive, devotion to service and negotiating skill make the lean, young-looking general seem perfect."

According to a report in the New York Post, the general has "a winning public demeanor — when he led the 101st Airborne Division in northern Iraq in 2003, he proved such a superb diplomat that the Kurds called him 'Malik Daoud' — King David — as a mark of respect. He listened patiently; spent money wisely, used force intelligently and truly did win hearts and minds. He went on to tackle the reconstruction of Iraq's security forces. Where others had faltered, Petraeus appeared to succeed."