U.S. Iraq envoy to leave soon after Petraeus: paper

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker plans to leave Baghdad as early as January, shortly after U.S. military commander Gen. David Petraeus is expected to rotate out of Iraq, The Washington Post reported on Thursday.

Crocker, a career diplomat, plans to retire and wants to leave his Iraq post by mid-January, before a new administration takes office in Washington, the newspaper said.

"I am prepared to remain in Baghdad until early 2009, when I intend to retire," Crocker said in an e-mail to The Post. "That will make two years in Iraq and 37 years in the Foreign Service -- it's enough!"

Crocker was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the U.S. ambassador to Iraq in March 2006.

Press reports earlier this year said Petraeus was being considered as the next NATO supreme allied commander and could move to NATO before a new president takes office on January 20.

The Post said Iraq experts were concerned about the near-simultaneous departure of Crocker and Petraeus who have been credited with making the most progress during the five-year U.S. presence in Iraq.

Petraeus has been praised for implementing a new counterinsurgency strategy in Iraq that U.S. officials say played a big role in a decline in violence there last year.

(Writing by JoAnne Allen; Editing by Peter Cooney)