The top US military commander in Iraq said Thursday that he
will likely recommend additional withdrawals of US troops this fall.
"My sense is that I will be able to make a recommendation at that time for
some further reductions," General David Petraeus told a Senate committee,
adding he has not determined the size of the withdrawal.
"I do believe that there will be certain assets that, as we are already
looking at the picture right now, we'll be able to recommend can be either
redeployed or not deployed to the theater in the fall," Petraeus said.
Petraeus told lawmakers last month that he needed a 45-day evaluation period
that would last into September to determine whether additional withdrawals can
take place once President George W Bush's troop surge ends in July.
The end of the troop buildup will leave 140,000 US soldiers in Iraq. Petraeus
said Thursday that he now believes the security conditions in Iraq will permit
for more pullouts.
He predicted however that Iraqi forces will not be able to assume control of
all of the country's provinces until 2009 despite earlier Pentagon estimates
that the transfers from US forces could take place by the end of this year.
Petraeus pointed to the poor performance of Iraqi security forces in the battle
with militants in the southern city of Basra earlier this year as a sign the
Iraqi forces were not yet ready to take responsibility for security throughout
the country.
Petraeus was testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee over his
nomination by Bush to become the head of US Central Command, which oversees
military operations in the Middle East, South Asia and parts of Africa.
General Ray Odierno, a veteran of the Iraq conflict, was also testifying as
part of his confirmation to replace Petraeus.
Petraeus appeared before Congress in early April to update lawmakers on the
progress that has been made under the troop surge, but his recommendation for
the 45-day pause in troop reductions did not go over well with Democrats
pushing for an end to the US role in the fighting.
Senator Carl Levin, the Democratic chairman of the committee, said Petraeus'
plan to seek additional withdrawals in September was "good news."
The Senate is expected to confirm Petraeus and Odierno to their new posts,
although they are not expected to take them up until September or later, dpa reported.
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