!Already, there’s reaction to reports that Lt. Gen David Petraeus will take command in Iraq.New York Post columnist Ralph Peters says Petraeus is one of the U.S. Army’s “most impressive leaders.”_The question is whether Gen. Petraeus is the right choice – or if he’ll merely be the final executor of a failed policy.__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 – no easy task, given the ruinous legacy of L. Paul Bremer’s term as viceroy. Where others had faltered, Petraeus appeared to succeed.__Having known him – a bit – for years, I have unreserved respect for his talent and dedication, his quality of mind and selfless service. He’s the greatest peacekeeping general in the world. But I just don’t know if he can win a war._AP suggests that Petraeus’ command will likely come with an increase in the number of U.S. troops fighting in Iraq:_A defense official, who insisted on anonymity because formal announcements are still pending, said that Bush wants to replace Abizaid with Adm. William Fallon, the top U.S. commander in the Pacific and that Casey’s replacement would be Army Lt. Gen. David Petraeus, who headed the effort to train Iraqi security forces.__Giving Fallon and Petraeus the top military posts in the Middle East would help Bush assert that he is taking a fresh approach in the region. Both Abizaid and Casey have expressed reservations about the potential effectiveness of boosting troop strength in Iraq._The Guardian in Great Britain notes that several top officials on Iraq are being replaced, but adds:_However, it is the appointment of Lt Gen Petraeus – a believer in avoiding heavy-handed tactics in order to win hearts and minds – that will be most closely watched.__Supporters including the retired army general Barry McCaffrey speak glowingly of Lt Gen Petraeus, who led the 101st Airborne Division in northern Iraq in the 2003 invasion.__”A guy like Petraeus is so ferociously creative and brilliant, sometimes that makes the buttoned-down senior military leadership nervous,” Gen McCaffrey said.__Lt Gen Petraeus has a PhD from Princeton University, where he wrote a dissertation on lessons the US army learned from Vietnam. In his current job, he oversaw the rewriting of the army and Marine counter-insurgency field manual.__Issued last month, the document argues that, while killing insurgents matters, it is even more vital to win the support of the population. It also advocates moving soldiers out of large, isolated bases and putting them among the population.__Gen Petraeus’s tactics worked to good effect in Mosul and northern Iraq, but his detractors say he won a short-term peace at the expense of allowing insurgents to organise themselves._Other Kansas military headlines today.Fort Riley(Gwinnett Daily Post) Soldier died just short of retirement: Sgt. 1st Class Dexter Wheelous could have been a career basketball player, his brother Darrell said. Instead, he chose to serve in the Army. “He was so good they called him Bird, after Larry Bird,” Darrell said. “He was left-handed like Larry Bird, too.” Wheelous, 37, who lived in Winder prior to deployment, was killed Christmas day in Baghdad, Iraq, from injuries sustained in an improvised explosive attack. He was assigned to the 842nd Military Training and Transition Team, 1st Infantry Division at Fort Riley, Kan. The Atlanta native was the youngest of nine brothers and sisters and leaves behind his wife of nine years, Sadie, who is from Missouri. After 20 years in the service, Wheelous was only months away from retirement, Darrell said.Kansas National Guard(Wichita Eagle) Power outage may last 3 weeks: It could be three weeks before all power is restored to western Kansas, state officials said Thursday. State officials Thursday warned Kansans to be prepared should the storm and extreme cold make matters worse. Nearly 200 Kansas National Guardsmen have been helping with recovery efforts since the storm struck a week ago. But most of the Guard’s resources are deployed to Iraq. “We have enough resources for the current disaster, but if a second disaster hits at the same time… we will face challenging situations,” said Sharon Watson, director of public affairs with the state adjutant general’s office, which oversees the Kansas National Guard. “We are asking Kansans to be ready and stock up on the supplies they may need,” she said.