General James Mattis officially took the helm yesterday of the US Central Command, or CENTCOM, which has overall control of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He replaces General David Petraeus. Petraeus had taken over direct command of the faltering Afghan conflict after his predecessor, General Stanley McChrystal, was fired after giving a damaging magazine interview. He takes on the post as the United States readies to end its combat role in Iraq in late August leaving a contingent of 50,000 troops ahead of a total withdrawal in 2011. Mattis' command also includes overseeing efforts under way in Afghanistan where 150,000 international coalition troops have been facing a surge violence mounting for the past four years and a surge of US forces has been rushed in.