Troop withdrawal from Iraq should be suspended: Petraeus
General Petraeus gave evidence to the US Congress
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Tuesday, 08, Apr 2008 08:13
The commander of US troops in Iraq General David Petraeus has called for troop withdrawals to be suspended from July to protect security gains made in recent months.
Gen Petraeus and US ambassador Ryan Crocker gave evidence on the situation in Iraq to Congress today, following-on from the military and diplomatic progress update they provided in September.
The general said during his evidence that the recent US troop 'surge' ordered by president George Bush had resulted in "significant but uneven" improvements in the security situation in Iraq.
However, he warned that despite recent improvements the terrorist organisation al-Qaida could "still stage a resurgence" and said that troop levels in the country would need to be evaluated in the summer.
The general also accused Iran of arming militiamen fighting against the Iraqi government, claiming it was playing a "destructive role" in the country.
Gen Petraeus said that US troop levels in Iraq would be reduced to the levels before last year's 'surge', before a 45-day review period would be used to calculate the required future troop levels.
He said that there would no set timeline for the US withdrawal from Iraq, claiming instead that "sizeable conventional forces" would still be required to support the Iraqi government.
The withdrawal of US troops has become a key issue in forthcoming presidential election in November with Republicans supporting the general's calls for a continued presence in Iraq, while key Democrats are calling for an immediate withdrawal.
Contender for the Democrat presidential nomination and Senate Armed Services committee member, Hillary Clinton, told General Petraeus during his evidence that it was now "time to begin an orderly process of withdrawing our troops", so that US focus could be shifted towards Afghanistan and other areas.
Ms Clinton claimed there had been a "lack of political progress over the past six months" and criticised Iraqi-led military offensives.
"It might well be irresponsible to continue the policy that has not produced results that have been promised time and time again," she said.
The New York senator's Democratic rival, Barack Obama, is scheduled to ask Mr Crocker and General Petraeus questions later on Tuesday, when they appear before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.