David Petraeus, the American general who presided over Iraq’s pull back from the brink of all-out civil war, relinquished his command today to General Ray Odierno under a cascade of official thank-yous.

A top American commander on Friday accused Iran of supplying powerful roadside bombs to militants in Afghanistan and said the US would “act decisively” if the cross-border flow continues.

Admiral William Fallon, who is poised to become the top American commander in the Middle East, says the United States miscalculated the ability of Iraqi forces to take control and underestimated the enemy’s persistence.

A top US naval commander said today that an incident in which a Chinese submarine came close to the USS Kitty Hawk carrier group in the Pacific Ocean could have escalated into an “unforeseen” situation.