By NNN-KUNA
Washington : US military commander General David Petraeus has recommended cutting US forces in Iraq by about 4,000 troops in December to be followed by a gradual reduction to pre-surge levels by mid 2008.
At a hearing in the US Congress Monday, Petraeus said the reduction in the number of force should not be read as a withdrawal, warning that leaving the US forces from Iraq would be “devastating.”
President George W. Bush ordered 20,000-plus troops to be deployed in Baghdad earlier this year, a surge designed to quell violence in Baghdad.
Petraeus said he planned to bring down the number of troops to the same level before the surge was ordered.
After months of speculation, Petraeus’ awaited testimony, along with US Ambassador in Baghdad Ryan Crocker to Congress, presented no surprises, building on the success of the seven-month troops surge in Iraq and calling for patience on the political front.
“I believe that we will be able to reduce our forces to the pre-surge level of brigade combat teams by next summer without jeopardizing the security gains that we have fought so hard to achieve,” said Petraeus, noting that later this month the Marine expeditionary unit deployed as part of the surge will depart Iraq without being replaced and would be followed by another brigade in December. In addition, four other brigades and two Marine battalions would leave Iraq by July 2008, restoring the pre-surge levels of 15 combat brigades.
Sitting in the Cannon Caucus Room on Capitol Hill, Petraeus and Crocker testified in front of members of the two House committees after Bush authorized last January a troop surge, bringing the number of US soldiers up to 30,000 to 168,000 deployed between February and June, mainly to secure Baghdad and its neighbourhood.
“It would be premature to make recommendations on the pace of such reduction at this time,” Petraeus pointed out on the potential plans for further withdrawal after July 2008.
“Our experience in Iraq has repeatedly shown that projecting too far into the future is not just difficult … it can be misleading and even hazardous,” he added.
This is the first of three hearing sessions scheduled this week to decide the course of the war in Iraq after nearly four years and five months of the American-led invasion of Iraq. Later this week, Bush and his National Security team will deliver a compiled report to Congress as required by the 2007 Supplemental Appropriations Bill.
Democrat lawmakers did not hide their disappointment over the lack of progress on Iraq while the Republicans stressed on security achievements and defending the credibility of Petraeus who came under fire by leading Democrats in Congress.
“I hope, General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker, that you can persuade us that there is substantial reason to believe that Iraq will turn around in the very near future,” said House Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton while House Committee on Foreign Affairs Chairman Tom Lantos noted that Petraeus’ plans for withdrawal are “clearly nowhere near enough,” offering harsh criticism against Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
“The situation in Iraq cries out for a dramatic change of course. We need to get out of Iraq, for that country’s sake and for our own. It is time to go and to go now,” added Lantos, referring to the report by the Government Accountability Office concluded last week, mentioning that only seven of the 18 benchmarks have been met by the Iraqi government.
“I think it is an outrage that we have spent the last week prepping the ground, bashing the credibility of a general officer whose trademark is integrity,” said Republican Representative Duncan Hunter while his colleague, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, expressed her distress “by the accusations levelled by some in the media, calling into question the integrity of our military.”
“Today, before the Congress and before the American people, General Petraeus is likely to become General Betray Us,” headlined the political organisation MoveOn.org in a full-page ad in the New York Times Monday, accusing Petraeus of “cooking the books for the White House.”
Petraeus, who took his position last January, said that there was “uneven” improvement in Iraq but “the military objectives of the surge are in large measure being met,” stating that sectarian violence has been brought down and eight of the past 12 weeks had a decline in the number of security incidents and the rate in the last two weeks was the lowest since June 2006, attributing this decrease to the military operations and “significant blows” against the al-Qaeda in Iraq.
The top US commander in Iraq said that the army has also dealt with Shiite militias, capturing “the head and numerous other leaders of the Iranian-supported special groups, along with a senior Lebanese Hezbollah operative supporting Iran’s activities in Iraq,” accusing them of assassinating Iraqi governmental leaders.
“Foreign and homegrown terrorists, insurgents, militia extremists and criminals all push the ethno-sectarian competition toward violence. Malign actions by Syria, and especially by Iran, fuel that violence. Lack of adequate governmental capacity, lingering sectarian mistrust, and various forms of corruption add to Iraq’s challenges,” said Petraeus, summing up the security situation on Iraq.
“The tribal rejection of al-Qaeda that started in Anbar province and helped produce such significant change there has now spread to a number of other locations as well,” said Petraeus, noting that the monthly rate of violence declined from 1,350 in December 2006 to around 200 last August.
The US commander said that the number of car bombings and suicide attacks dropped from 175 last March to 90 last August, but pointed out that “the number of high-profile attacks is still too high.”
Crocker, on his part, argued that during the 35 years under the rule of Saddam Hussein “there was complete deconstruction of Iraqi society,” describing Iraq as “a traumatized society.”
“This is the legacy that Iraqis had as their history when Saddam’s statue came down on April 9, 2003. No Nelson Mandela existed to emerge on the national political scene; anyone with his leadership talents would not have survived,” he added.
“We have come to associate progress on national reconciliation as meaning the passage of key pieces of legislation,” said Crocker, noting that the law of distributing oil revenue would be “another step down the road toward a federal system that all Iraqis have not yet embraced.”
“I do believe that Iraq’s leaders have the will to tackle the country’s pressing problems, although it will take longer than we originally anticipated because of the environment and the gravity of the issues before them,” he added, showing confidence in al-Maliki and his leadership.
By the end of the week, Bush is expected to address the nation on Iraq. He already heard twice so far the assessment and recommendations by Petraeus and Crocker, the first by video conference on Aug 31 and the second in person when Bush flew to Baghdad last week.