WASHINGTON, 9 April 2008 — The US general commanding the Iraq war yesterday called for an open-ended suspension of US troop withdrawals this July, asserting that an overly rapid withdrawal would jeopardize recent security gains.
Gen. David Petraeus told a Senate hearing that he recommends a 45-day “period of consolidation and evaluation” once the extra combat forces that President George W. Bush ordered to Iraq last year have completed their pullout in July. He did not commit to a timetable for resuming troop reductions after the 45-day pause.
“At the end of that period, we will commence a process of assessment to examine the conditions on the ground and, over time, determine when we can make recommendations for further reductions,” Petraeus said.
“This process will be continuous, with recommendations for further reductions made as conditions permit,” he added. “This approach does not allow establishment of a set withdrawal timetable.”
The plan amounts to a conservative approach that gives Petraeus maximum flexibility at a time of rising violence in Baghdad and some others parts of the country. It runs counter to Democrats’ push for a more rapid reduction in the US military commitment and a faster transfer of responsibility to the Iraqi government.
The hearing marked the start of two days of high-profile congressional appearances by Petraeus and US Ambassador Ryan Crocker. With the congressional and presidential elections in November, Democrats and Republicans were using the hearings to argue their opposing stances of the war: Republicans backing Bush’s handling of the war and Democrats generally pushing for a withdrawal.
Among the senators making their case at the hearings were the three presidential candidates: Republican John McCain, who supports keeping US troops in Iraq, and Democrats Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, who say they would bring soldiers home. Petraeus said his approach takes account of the fact that security gains achieved over the past year are fragile and reversible, and he said it is intended to “form a foundation for the gradual establishment of sustainable security in Iraq.” But he did not say when he thought that goal would be reached.
Bush has said he intended to accept Petraeus’ recommendation. Tomorrow, the president will make a speech about the war, now in its sixth year, and his decision about troop levels.
Under questioning by Sen. Carl Levin, the Democratic chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Petraeus said he could not predict when troop reductions would be resumed or how many US troops were likely to remain in Iraq by the end of this year. There currently are 160,000 US troops in Iraq, and the Pentagon has projected that when the scheduled troop withdrawals are completed in July there will be about 140,000 troops there. Levin reminded Petraeus that Defense Secretary Robert Gates has said a pause in troop reductions should be brief, and the senator said the Petraeus plan amounted to an open-ended suspension.
“What you’ve given to your chain of command is a plan which has no end to it,” Levin said. He asked Petraeus when he would be in position to recommend further troop cuts, once the 45-day evaluation period ends in September.
“It could be right then, or it could be longer,” the general said. Petraeus declined to be pinned down, saying he would recommend further cuts when conditions were right.
