General David Petraeus is in Washington, D.C. today for the White House’s major personnel announcement, but according to Pentagon spokesperson Col. Dave Lapan, the Afghan commander is also scheduled to discuss this July’s initial drawdown of American forces from Afghanistan with other U.S. officials.
Petraeus is expected to give his recommendations for the breadth of the initial withdrawal at some point within the coming months, but Lapan could not confirm whether or not Petraeus will be giving them as part of his meeting.
President Obama is will announce this afternoon that he will be appointing Petraeus as the next Director of the CIA, effective this September. The President is also expected to name current CIA Director Leon Panetta as the next Defense Secretary and Lt. General John Allen as Petraeus’ replacement in Afghanistan.
Lapan could not confirm if Panetta or current Defense Secretary Robert Gates will attend the meeting.