Odierno Takes Command, Offers Warning

The United States has installed a new military commander in Iraq and he has begun his duties by warning about just how difficult the situation still is.

Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno described the security gains made under the previous commander, Gen. David Petraeus, as fragile and reversible.

At a ceremony in one of Saddam Hussein's former palaces, where Odierno officially took charge of the 146,000-strong force, he warned that the United States cannot afford to rest on its laurels and assume that the improvement in security in Iraq is permanent.

"First we've got to protect the population, we want the Iraqi security force there to take over the ability to protect the population," he said.

"We want to make sure al Qaeda... although they're still very dangerous, they're not able to regenerate ... the Iraqis have done tremendous work in reducing the influence of militias. We want to make sure that does not return. So those things do not change."

It is Odierno's third tour of duty to Iraq, and he was part of the team led by Petraeus that pushed for a surge of troops in the country -- an approach that has been regarded as successful.

Lydia Khalil, a visiting fellow at the Lowy Institute and former a policy adviser for the Coalition Provisional Authority in Baghdad, says she thinks Odierno is the right man for the job.

"He has an excellent reputation outside and inside the military, and he was also a key component in formulating Petraeus' counter-terrorism strategy and counter-insurgency strategy," she said.

"So there is a sense of continuity about him which makes this changeover not as abrupt.

"However with any changeover, especially at this very fragile time in Iraq, where security gains can be lost, insurgents and terrorists can take advantage of this. So there's a bit of apprehension at least in the short-term with this change over."

She is less optimistic about the situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan, which she has described as desperate.

Today French Defence Minister Herve Morin was in Canberra visiting his Australian counterpart, Joel Fitzgibbon.

The French suffered one of their worst death tolls for the military last month when 10 soldiers were killed and 21 wounded near Kabul.

But like the Australian Government, the French Minister says there is no wavering on their commitment to Afghanistan.

"The idea of abandoning that mission has no basis whatsoever in France, no support in France," Mr Morin said.

"It is very clear that decisions by countries to withdraw their troops would be a bad signal."

Khalil says France's commitment to be a staunch ally is a positive sign.

"I think that's good news for Afghanistan and also for the international effort there that the French are so committed. Because as we've been seeing Afghanistan really is in dire straits," she said.

"You've had commitment from other European and NATO allies who have been faltering. We've seen problems in terms of co-ordination of command, because of the many actors involved.

"So this is a good sign I think, that the French are coming out very strongly and supporting other positions of Australia, the United States and the UK, who also voiced a very strong commitment to keeping our forces in there and also co-ordinating better in that theatre."