Casey Confirmed U.S. Army Chief of Staff

The United States Senate has confirmed Gen. George Casey to be the next U.S. Army chief of staff by an 83-14 vote.

Casey, who led the multinational forces in Iraq since 2004, succeeds retiring Gen. Peter Schoomaker in the Army’s top uniformed position. He hands over his Iraq duties to Gen. David Petraeus on Saturday.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates praised Casey as eminently qualified and the first choice of the professional military and the secretary of the Army for this position, the American Forces Press Service said.

In his confirmation hearings before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Casey said that U.S. President George Bush’s Iraq strategy can work, stressing securing the Iraqi population as a key element.

To do that, he said. Iraq’s security forces must emerge as the dominant security forces in the country.