Citing achievements of the troop "surge plan," the top US
military commander in Iraq Gen. David Petraeus proposed on Monday a
gradual drawdown of troop presence in that country.
In his high-profile testimony before a joint session of the
House Foreign Affairs and Armed Services committees, Petraeus said
a Marine unit will depart Iraq later this month and recommended
cutting US troop levels there by a single combat brigade or 4,000
in mid December.
In his vision, US troop levels in Iraq could drop back to
130,000 next summer, or the level before the Bush administration
decided to send 30,000 additional troops to Iraq in January to
quell violence.
There are currently 168,000 US troops in Iraq, the highest level
since the war began in 2003.
However, Petraeus also warned a "premature" drawdown of US
troops from Iraq would be "devastating."
The general also stopped short of saying what is next for US
troops in Iraq beyond the summer of 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 said.
Responding to pre-hearing criticism that he is repeating the
Bush administration line on Iraq, Petraeus in his opening statement
said the testimony was his alone.
As expected, the testimony of Petraeus focused on the impact of
President George W. Bush's troop "surge plan."
He claimed that the military objectives of the "surge plan" were
reached.
"As a bottom line, up front the military objectives of the surge
are in large measure being met," said Petraeus.
However, Democrats said the "surge plan" is a failure and
opinion polls showed that the public also don't buy it.
(Xinhua News Agency September 11, 2007)
