Petraeus Defies Democrats With Call To Back War

the independent: The US commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, set himself on a collision course with the two Democratic contenders for the White House yesterday, asking for what amounted to an open-ended commitment to the war in Iraq. He warned that pulling out “too many troops too quickly” would jeopardise “fragile and reversible” security situation in the country.

General Petraeus said there had been “significant” but “uneven” improvements in security and said troop levels would need to be reassessed in the summer, by which time about 20,000 would be out. But he told the hearing to set the future US strategy in Iraq that he opposed further withdrawals and wanted “the flexibility to reserve the still fragile security gains our troopers have fought so hard and sacrificed so much to achieve”.

His comments were immediately criticised by the Democratic Senator Carl Levin who said the Bush administration now had “a war plan with no exit strategy”. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are publicly committed to a rapid withdrawal of American forces. But addressing the Senate Armed Services committee yesterday, General Petraeus recommended a pause in drawdowns after mid-July, when the five extra brigades sent to Iraq for the “surge” will be out.

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