Petraeus faces Congress grilling
General David Petraeus: Surge objectives being met
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Tuesday, 11, Sep 2007 08:41
Two senior US figures in Iraq have faced a grilling in Congress today on the future involvement of US troops in the Middle Eastern country.
General David Petraeus, America's senior commander in Iraq, and ambassador Ryan Crocker met with tough questions from both Democrat and Republican senators.
Intense pressure has been placed on the Bush administration to withdraw more troops from Iraq.
In his testimony General Petraeus said that although America's objectives could be achieved in Iraq, "it will take time".
"I do not believe it is reasonable to have an adequate appreciation for the pace of further reductions and mission adjustments beyond the summer of 2008 until after mid-March of next year," he said.
The insistence from America's senior commander in Iraq that a recent troop surge is working has met with a negative reaction.
Senator Barack Obama, a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination next year, described the war in Iraq as a "disastrous foreign policy mistake".
Another presidential candidate, Senator Chris Dodd, added: "I don't get a feeling here that there's any real opportunity or optimism, that this is going to get better."
General David Petraeus told the joint Congressional hearing yesterday that the extra 30,000 US troops sent to Iraq by George Bush earlier this year were on course to meet their objectives.
He also announced that the extra soldiers which swelled the overall American presence in the war-torn Middle Eastern country to 168,000 would gradually be withdrawn over the next 12 months, bringing US troop levels in Iraq in line with pre-surge numbers by mid-2008.
On Capitol Hill yesterday, Democrat Ike Skelton, chairman of the house armed services committee, cast doubts on the general's claims that military success could be translated into political stability.
He asked: "What is the likelihood that things will change dramatically and there will be political progress in the near term? Are we merely beating a dead horse?"
The chairman of the foreign relations committee, Tom Lantos, went further in his criticism, accusing the Bush administration of "myopic policies" in Iraq.
He also accused prime minister Nouri al-Maliki of being a Shia Muslim strongman not interested in national unity.
"We need to get out of Iraq for that country's sake and our own," Mr Lantos insisted. "It is time to go and to go now."
The reaction in Baghdad has been more positive, however. In comments reported by the Reuters news agency, Iraq's national security adviser Mowaffaq al-Rubaie said American military efforts had "paved the way to boost victory and security".
"We expect in the near future that our need will be diminished for the multinational forces to conduct direct combat operations," Mr al-Rubaie added.