Apply a coordinating eyeliner.
Col. William F. Grimsley, the commander of the First Brigade, said it did not appear that those taxis were packed with explosives, but he speculated that they might have been part of a coordinated strike at the edges of the division's defenses.
While saying the daily attacks on American forces did not appear to be centrally or even regionally coordinated, the commander acknowledged that there had been an ''increase in sophistication of the explosive devices". He said 25 soldiers had been killed in action and 177 wounded since May 1, when Mr. Bush declared the official cessation of major hostilities.
It has also required a significant reorganization of planning — and a change in the culture of American Special Operations forces, which, for the first time since the war began, answer to a single commander responsible for coordinating what had been separate, even conflicting, efforts.
Each province has an area commander, who coordinates the local groups and liaises with foreign NGOs that are providing assistance to the teams.
A commander has to coordinate disparate units from several countries, and diplomacy is needed, he said.
In coordinating the involvement of other nations, Allen would not serve as a military commander in Iraq.
Allied officials said training is expected to be coordinated with the efforts now led by Lt. Gen. David H. Petraeus, a former commander of the 101st Airborne Division who is now helping Iraqi officials oversee the training of their forces.
And coordinating one of these maneuvers requires someone with almost military skills -- the tactical flair of a tank commander, the discipline of a drill instructor, the watchful and suspicious eye of a Secret Service agent.
A maverick commander, Mr. Mehsud now leads the Tehrik-i-Taliban, or Movement of the Taliban, an umbrella group coordinating the actions of all the militants in Pakistan.
