AFP, Washington, Oct 30, 2008 (excerpts) – Crowned with success in Iraq, General David Petraeus, who takes command Friday of US military forces in the Middle East and Central Asia, inherits the next big challenge: devising a winning strategy in Afghanistan.

Responsible for a volatile theater of operations that extends from Kenya to Kazakhstan, the high profile general must also keep an eye on extremism in Pakistan and Iranian influence in the region, all under the orders of a new US president.

The intensifying violence in Afghanistan has put the “forgotten war” on the front burner and has pushed the White House, the Joint Staff and Petraeus to launched strategic reviews of what the general has called the “longest campaign of the long war.”

Added to the long list of challenges that await General Petreaus is Iran, which the United States accuses of seeking to develop nuclear weapons and of trying to keep the pot boiling in Iraq by supporting insurgents.

“In Iran, we face a tremendous threat to regional security, and also the country most likely to test the next US president,” said Jon Alterman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies.