WASHINGTON—The top U.S. commander in Iraq told Congress on Tuesday he plans to stop U.S. troop withdrawals in July due to fragile security gains in a progress report with repercussions on the U.S. presidential campaign.
A recent increase in violence—including the deaths of 11 American service personnel in the past 48 hours—has thrust Iraq back to among the top concerns of war-weary American voters ahead of the November election.
Gen. David Petraeus told the Senate Armed Services Committee that the year-long troop increase has led to an improvement in security in parts of Iraq but that these gains are "fragile and reversible."
He said an Iraqi operation earlier this month to tackle Shi'ite militias in the southern city of Basra—which President George W. Bush had called a "defining moment" for Iraq, was a disappointment, not adequately planned or prepared.
To avoid jeopardizing the gains of the past year, Petraeus said he had recommended a 45-day halt in July to a series of troop withdrawals and after that pause would assess conditions on the ground to determine whether security is sufficient to bring more home.
The United States now has 160,000 troops in Iraq. Under plans announced last year, the Pentagon is pulling five combat brigades—or about 20,000 troops—out by mid-July, bringing the force level down to what it was before the troop increase.
The end result is that more than 100,000 U.S. troops could still be in Iraq until Bush leaves office in January 2009, leaving the U.S. presence to the next president to handle.
to Halt Iraq Withdrawals
Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, said on Tuesday the United States would stop withdrawing troops from the war zone after July to assess security conditions.
Here are highlights of testimony delivered by Petraeus and U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker to Senate committees.
* The U.S. military will complete the withdrawal of about 20,000 combat troops through mid-July. But then withdrawals will stop for a 45-day assessment period, Petraeus said. After that, commanders will start a second evaluation period of to determine whether security conditions would allow Petraeus to recommend a further troop reduction.
* Petraeus, pressed by a senator, said he could not estimate how many troops might be in Iraq at the end of 2008. The United States has 160,000 troops there now.
* The "surge" of about 30,000 additional troops into Iraq last year has improved security, but those gains are "fragile and reversible," according to Petraeus and Crocker.
* The number of high-profile attacks increased in March due to activity by al Qaeda in Iraq, but the number of attacks is still far below that of a year ago, Petraeus said.
* While the surge had met the aim of creating enough calm to allow Iraqi factions to move toward reconciliation, the Iraqi government has not fulfilled all of the political objectives laid out by President George W. Bush when he announced the strategy in 2007, the officials said.
* Petraeus said withdrawing too many forces too quickly could jeopardize progress made during the surge.
* Petraeus and Crocker charged Iran, Syria and Lebanon's Hezbollah of fueling recent fighting in Baghdad, saying Tehran and Damascus were pursuing a "Lebanization strategy" in Iraq.
Deep Political Divisions
Presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and John McCain joined the debate in the crowded hearing room, reflecting the deep divide on the five-year-old war.
New York Sen. Clinton, who is battling for the Democratic Party presidential nomination with Sen. Barack Obama, told Petraeus the United States should begin withdrawing its troops from Iraq to focus on problems elsewhere.
"I think it's time to begin an orderly process of withdrawing our troops, start rebuilding our military, and focusing on the challenges posed by Afghanistan, the global terrorist groups and other problems that confront Americans," she said.
Arizona Republican Sen. McCain said he saw a genuine prospect of success in Iraq and warned that defeat could require U.S. troops to return in a broader war.
"We're no longer staring into the abyss of defeat and we can now look ahead to the genuine process of success," said McCain, a strong supporter of the U.S. presence who has clinched his party's presidential nomination.
Illinois Democratic Sen. Obama, who also advocates pulling out U.S. forces, was to face Petraeus later at a hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Petraeus' plan to stop troop withdrawals drew a rebuke from the committee chairman, Michigan Democratic Sen. Carl Levin. He called it "an open-ended pause" that would represent "the next page in a war plan with no exit strategy."
Levin demanded to know how many U.S. troops would be in Iraq at the end of 2008.
"Sir, I can't give you an estimate," said Petraeus, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker, at his side.
Troops Pull-Out
Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Edward Kennedy said it was time to put the Iraqi government on notice that "our troops will not remain forever, so that they will take the essential steps to resolve their differences."
South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham asked Petraeus whether it was possible to carry out the campaign promises of Clinton and Obama, who have both said they would pull out a troop brigade each month if elected.
Petraeus said if conditions were good, it was possible, but added when pressed by Graham: "Well, senator, again I have advocated conditions-based reductions, not a timetable. War is not a linear phenomenon."
Protesters several times interrupted the proceedings, providing an edgy atmosphere inside a Capitol Hill hearing room packed with news media and onlookers.
"Bring them home!" shouted one demonstrator to scattered applause who was hustled out as Petraeus tried to speak.
Pressed by Virginia Republican Sen. John Warner whether the U.S. sacrifice—4,000 dead and billions of dollars spent—has been worth it, Petraeus said it has been.
"Senator, I do believe it is worth it, or I would not have, I guess, accepted—I mean, you do what you're ordered to do, but you sometimes are asked whether you would like to, or are willing to take on a task," he said.
In testimony to different committees over two days, Petraeus and Crocker will assess the uneven progress made in a year-long "surge" of force meant to create the calm for Iraqi politicians to advance legislation and factions to reconcile.
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