October 7, 2008
- Coos Bay / North Bend, Oregon
Petraeus: Iraq troop decision likely by September
US soldiers and Iraqi soldiers arrive on the scene of gas station fire, seen in background, during a joint foot patrol in Karkh neighborhood, Baghdad, Iraq, on Tuesday, May 20, 2008. By Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) - Gen. David Petraeus said Thursday that by September he is likely to recommend further force reductions in Iraq.
The four-star Army general, who has been leading troops in Iraq, is slated to become the head of U.S. Central Command. He told a Senate panel he now believes he can make a recommendation for possible force reductions before changing command this fall. "My sense is that I will be able to make a recommendation at that time for some further reductions," Petraeus said. "I don't want to imply that that means" a particular brigade or major combat formation. "But I do believe there will be certain assets that, as we are already looking at the picture right now, we'll be able to recommend can be either redeployed or not deployed to the theater in the fall," he said. Sen. Carl Levin, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, responded: "That's good news to most of us." On a less-optimistic note, Petraeus said it is unlikely that Iraqi security forces will take the lead in all provinces this year, as was recently predicted by the Defense Department. Petraeus said events in the past month and a half - alluding to a spike in violence in Basra - have pushed that goal to 2009. Petraeus also said that provincial elections are likely to be delayed by one month this fall, taking place in November instead of October. Petraeus has spent nearly four years in Iraq, most recently as commander of U.S. troops there. He would replace Navy Adm. William Fallon as the senior commander of troops in the Middle East, which includes Afghanistan. Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno, who served as Petraeus' deputy for 15 months, is slated to replace Petraeus as the senior military officer in Iraq. Levin, D-Mich., a staunch war opponent, indicated he supports the promotion of the two generals. Their confirmation would enable unprecedented continuity of leadership in Iraq by officers whose knowledge of the war effort is unparalleled, he said. "Regardless of one's view of the wisdom of the policy that took us to Iraq in the first place and has kept us there over five years, we owe Gen. Petraeus and Gen. Odierno a debt of gratitude for the commitment, determination and strength that they brought to their areas of responsibility," Levin said. "And regardless how long the administration may choose to remain engaged in the strife in that country, our troops are better off with the leadership these two distinguished soldiers provide," he added. Petraeus also said in his testimony on Thursday that the existence of secret nuclear facilities in Syria is troubling. The U.S. must convince Syria that sparking a nuclear arms race in the region, harboring terrorists and trying to undermine stability in Lebanon are not in its own interest, he said. He added that he hopes the peace talks between Syria and Israel mark a positive step. Syria denies it has the suspected nuclear facilities. |
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