It’s a new year, Bush’s mission in Iraq has proved to be one failure after another, so now he’s replacing the lead Generals in Iraq and CentCom. The replacements are “part of a broad revamping of the military team that will carry out the administration’s new Iraq strategy,” Bush administration officials said on Thursday. Bush has named Lt. Gen. David H. Petraeus as the top American military commander in Iraq.

In addition to the promotion of General Petraeus, who will replace Gen. George W. Casey Jr., the choice to succeed Gen. John P. Abizaid as the head of the Central Command is expected to be Adm. William J. Fallon, who is the top American military officer in the Pacific, officials said.

The changes are being made as the White House is considering an option to increase American combat power in Baghdad by five brigades as well as adding two battalions of reinforcements to the volatile province of Anbar in western Iraq.

Mr. Bush, who said Thursday that he would present details of his overall strategy for Iraq next week, and several top aides held a video teleconference on Thursday, speaking with Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki of Iraq and his top deputies about plans to add forces in the capital and other matters. The session lasted roughly an hour and 45 minutes.

Bush also intends to appoint Zalmay Khalilzad, the ambassador to Iraq, as the new U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

“It was clearly time to move the players around on the field,” said the senior official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because Mr. Bush had yet to announce the changes. “This helps the president to make the case that this is a fresh start.”

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