Four-Star Gen. David H. Petraeus is the commander of CENTCOM, the United States Central Command. Central Command oversees U.S. security interests in 20 nations.

These nations include most of the world's key hotspots - Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran and Israel. Before Petraeus took over Central Command 17 months ago, he directed all coalition forces in Iraq.

He is an intellectual, a scholar, a combat veteran, and a leader. Organizations that make such lists rank him among the most powerful people in the world. Thursday afternoon, before Gen. Petraeus delivered an address at BYU, KSL's Bruce Lindsay sat down for an exclusive interview with him.

Segment 1:

The 7th anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq was on March 20. Approximately 4,400 American men and women have died in Iraq and 96,000 troops remain in the country.

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US Army Gen. David Petraeus speaks at BYU

Gen. David Petraeus is the commander of the U.S. Central Command, which means he commands troops in 20 countries, including Iraq and Afghanistan. He visited BYU Thursday evening.

When asked, "How does this end?" Gen. Petraeus explains, "I think we are seeing how it is going to end, and that is that Iraqis increasingly are taking on the tasks of running their country, of providing security for their citizens, of rebuilding their infrastructure and of essentially providing a better life for those of their country."

He says that Al-Qaida is still in Iraq but "in a much reduced fashion." The number of attacks are much lower today than 3 years ago - in spring 2007 there were approximately 220 attacks per day but today there are less than 20 attacks each day.

Gen. Petraeus discusses the democracy that has emerged in Iraq. "There's been this Iraq-cracy that has developed there, it is democracy Iraqi style." "It has featured a government that has been broadly representative of the people and is generally responsive to them," he explains.

Iraqis participated in the second parliamentary election on March 7. When asked about his greatest aspiration for the election, Gen. Petraeus says, "We certainly hope that the outcome is one that features a cross-sectarian and cross-ethnic composition in terms of the makeup of the new government." The goal is to make "all elements of this society feel that they are represented and that the government will be responsive to their concerns."

Gen. Petraeus calls hims self a "realist" when asked if this election is the rebirth of democracy in Iraq.

Deseret News:

Petraeus says civilian endeavors important in war strategy

Army Gen. David Petraeus says the ability to build, not just destroy, is helpful for troops' morale.

"Let's wait and see what the outcome is," he explains cautiously. "I think that it is too soon to tell whether what emerges will be the kind of government that we hope will be in place for the Iraqis."

President Obama has called for the drawdown of troops in Iraq. Half of the American troops will be gone by August this year and all will have left the country by the end of 2011. The general cannot imagine that anything could change this plan. He explains that the Iraq security force is already taking much of the control.

"There are nearly 700,000 Iraqi security force members now. We have long been transitioning tasks to them, they have long since taken the lead in the vast majority of the operations," he says.

Segment 2:

The U.S. invaded Afghanistan more than 8 years ago. "The overriding objective is to ensure that Al-Qaida and other transnational extremists can not once again establish sanctuaries or safe havens in Afghanistan," Gen. Petraeus says. "To do that requires a comprehensive counterinsurgency campaign plan, to enable the development of the Afghan governance and of the Afghan security forces."

The operations in Afghanistan and Iraq are very different. Afghanistan has a 70 percent illiteracy rate and doesn't have the oil revenue of Iraq. Afghanistan does have mineral reserves but the infrastructure is not in place to extract or exploit those resources. The challenges in Afghanistan are enormous. The country has sustained over 30 years of war.

Who is... Gen. David Petraeus?

General David H. Petraeus is in charge of the U.S. Central Command and has been since October 2008 after 19 months of being in command of the Multi-National Force-Iraq. He was commissioned in the Infantry upon graduation from the U.S. Military Academy in 1974. He has held a number of leadership positions in airborne, mechanized, and air assault infantry units in Europe and the United States.

There are currently over 80,000 U.S. and 40,000 NATO troops in Afghanistan. The number of Afghan forces is headed to over 300,000. "There are quite a few Afghan units that our soldiers and marines on the ground have considerable respect for," says Gen. Petraeus. "This is a society that does fight."

There are thousands of Taliban and insurgent forces. Gen. Petraeus explains that there is a core of very dedicated Taliban believers, but many of the followers have other motivations. Many of the followers are trying to take care of their families. These types of followers can be broken off.

Gen. Petraeus explains what constitutes a great leader. "It's all of the basic qualities that I think that you have, in terms of providing energy to the organization, providing the right vision and being able to communicate that vision to the breadth and depth of the organization, to then oversee it with vigor and a good example."

"We're also trying to ensure that we provide the kind of leadership to each of our individual subordinates and the organizations, that encourages them and enables them to really strive for excellence," Gen. Petraeus explains.