Pentagon chief in Iraq to transfer war command

BAGHDAD: Defense Secretary Robert Gates flew into Baghdad on Monday, preparing to hand command of the war in Iraq to a new general charged with maintaining better security while U.S. troop numbers fall.

Gates is making his eighth visit to Iraq since he took over at the Pentagon in December 2006.

On Tuesday he will preside over a ceremony to transfer command of U.S.-led forces in Iraq to Lieutenant-General Ray Odierno from General David Petraeus, whose term was marked by the deployment of 30,000 extra U.S. troops and a substantial decline in violence.

"The challenge, I think, for General Odierno is: How do we work with the Iraqis to preserve the gains that have already been achieved, expand upon them, even as the numbers of U.S. forces are shrinking," Gates told reporters on his plane.