Military 'brain trust' created for Iraq

WASHINGTON, Feb. 5 (UPI) -- The new U.S. military commander in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus, has created a group of senior officers with doctorates to create a success strategy.

Petraeus chose as his chief adviser on counterinsurgency operations an officer in the Australian Army, the Washington Post reported Monday. Lt. Col. David Kilcullen holds a Ph.D in anthropology, based on his studies on Islamic extremism in Indonesia.

Petraeus chose Col. Michael Meese, as his chief economic officer. Meese also holds a Ph.D from Princeton, where he studied how the Army historically handled budget cuts. He is also the son of former U.S. attorney general Edwin Meese, who as a member of the bipartisan Iraq Study Group, forced the Bush administration to shift its approach in Baghdad in December.

"I cannot think of another case of so many highly educated officers advising a general," said Carter Malkasian, who has advised Marine Corps commanders in Iraq on counterinsurgency and also holds an Oxford doctorate in the history of war.