Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
Wall Street Journal
April 9, 2008
Pg. 3
Call for Halting Drawdown May Stir Qualms at Pentagon
By Yochi J. Dreazen
WASHINGTON -- The top U.S. commander in Iraq said U.S. troop withdrawals should halt indefinitely this summer, a recommendation likely to roil the presidential race and deepen tensions in the Pentagon.
Comments by Gen. David Petraeus raise the prospect that no U.S. forces will leave Iraq after the last of 30,000 "surge" personnel return home in July, meaning a new president will take office with as many as 140,000 soldiers still in Iraq. An average of about 130,000 soldiers have been there for most of the war.
Testifying before a pair of Senate panels, Gen. Petraeus warned that recent security gains in Iraq were fragile and could evaporate if troop levels fall too sharply. He called for a 45-day period of evaluation after the last surge troops head home before commanders consider further withdrawals. He declined to offer a timetable for resuming reductions or to estimate how many U.S. soldiers would be in Iraq by year's end.
President Bush plans to address the nation Thursday about Iraq. A senior aide said the president is virtually certain to sign off on the proposal.
Gen. Petraeus's recommendations were far more cautious than many senior military commanders expected and are likely to trigger deep unease at the Pentagon. Many military officials want to see tens of thousands of soldiers leave Iraq in coming months to reduce the strain on the armed forces.
Gen. Richard Cody, the Army's vice chief of staff, told a congressional hearing last week that lengthy, repeated deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan are placing "incredible stress on our soldiers" and "testing the resolve of our all-volunteer force like never before."
Defense Secretary Robert Gates said this year that he hoped to see U.S. soldier levels in Iraq fall to roughly 100,000 by the end of 2008. Now, that seems virtually impossible.
The testimony by Gen. Petraeus and U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker puts both political parties on the spot. Democrats must explain their support for a fixed timetable for withdrawal in the face of Gen. Petraeus's clear opposition. Republicans will enter the fall campaign with as many as 140,000 soldiers in Iraq, making it harder for them to defend the unpopular war.
It's clear that Iraq's once-unrelenting bloodshed has subsided because of the surge, a cease-fire by Shiite nationalist leader Moqtada al-Sadr and the willingness of many Sunni tribal fighters to ally themselves with the U.S. in the fight against Islamic extremists. But violence began creeping back up in the wake of an ill-fated Iraqi assault against Mr. Sadr's forces in the southern port city of Basra. That sparked fighting across the country and triggered rocket attacks on the fortified Green Zone in Baghdad, killing several U.S. civilians, before Iranian officials helped broker a shaky truce.
Gen. Petraeus alluded to the Basra strike, which he said was poorly planned and executed by Iraqis, as further reason to be cautious about a U.S. drawdown.
"We haven't turned any corners, we haven't seen any lights at the end of the tunnel; the champagne bottle has been pushed to the back of the refrigerator," he said. "And the progress, while real, is fragile and is reversible."
Gen. Petraeus acknowledged that his proposals didn't contain a timetable for further withdrawals, a core component of the policies of the two Democratic presidential candidates. Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have both proposed withdrawing roughly one combat brigade a month after taking office.
Gen. Petraeus's refusal to offer such a timetable infuriated many Democrats. Democrats also said they are concerned that the U.S. is spending tens of billions of dollars in Iraq each year while the Iraqi government held $30 billion in reserves.
Sen. Carl Levin, chairman of the Armed Services Committee, said the Petraeus recommendations amounted to "a plan which has no end to it," which seemed to conflict with Mr. Gates's stated preference for only pausing withdrawals briefly.
"Sir, I'm not using the word 'brief' nor the word 'pause,'" Gen. Petraeus said.
Sen. Evan Bayh (D., Ind.) argued that the seemingly open-ended nature of the U.S. commitment made it easier for the Iraqi government to avoid taking steps to reconcile feuding sectarian groups. "Is it not possible to at least offer some rough estimate about when we will be able to...recommence extricating ourselves by withdrawing more troops from Iraq?" he asked.
Gen. Petraeus insisted it is too early to make judgments about future troop levels in Iraq. "It is just flat not responsible to try to put down a stake in the ground and say, 'This is when it will be' or 'That is when it will be,'" he said.
The two U.S. officials had harsh words for Iran. Gen. Petraeus said Iran is playing a "destructive role" by funneling advanced weaponry into Iraq. Mr. Crocker said Tehran is pursuing a "Lebanization strategy" by backing militias and other proxy groups in Iraq.
Mr. Crocker tried to reassure lawmakers that an emerging agreement between Iraq and the U.S. won't establish permanent U.S. bases inside Iraq or require future presidents to maintain large numbers of troops there. Democrats said any such agreement would require congressional approval; Mr. Crocker said the administration planned to sign a deal on its own.
The hearings mixed somber tributes to the more than 4,000 U.S. military personnel killed in Iraq with occasionally raucous demonstrations by protesters. Republicans seemed eager to enlist Gen. Petraeus as an ally in the political debate over the war. In the run-up to the hearing, Sen. John Cornyn of Texas asked supporters to sign a petition assuring U.S. troops they have the support of all Americans, "no matter what Democrats and their third-party attack machine would have you believe."
April 9, 2008
Pg. 3
Call for Halting Drawdown May Stir Qualms at Pentagon
By Yochi J. Dreazen
WASHINGTON -- The top U.S. commander in Iraq said U.S. troop withdrawals should halt indefinitely this summer, a recommendation likely to roil the presidential race and deepen tensions in the Pentagon.
Comments by Gen. David Petraeus raise the prospect that no U.S. forces will leave Iraq after the last of 30,000 "surge" personnel return home in July, meaning a new president will take office with as many as 140,000 soldiers still in Iraq. An average of about 130,000 soldiers have been there for most of the war.
Testifying before a pair of Senate panels, Gen. Petraeus warned that recent security gains in Iraq were fragile and could evaporate if troop levels fall too sharply. He called for a 45-day period of evaluation after the last surge troops head home before commanders consider further withdrawals. He declined to offer a timetable for resuming reductions or to estimate how many U.S. soldiers would be in Iraq by year's end.
President Bush plans to address the nation Thursday about Iraq. A senior aide said the president is virtually certain to sign off on the proposal.
Gen. Petraeus's recommendations were far more cautious than many senior military commanders expected and are likely to trigger deep unease at the Pentagon. Many military officials want to see tens of thousands of soldiers leave Iraq in coming months to reduce the strain on the armed forces.
Gen. Richard Cody, the Army's vice chief of staff, told a congressional hearing last week that lengthy, repeated deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan are placing "incredible stress on our soldiers" and "testing the resolve of our all-volunteer force like never before."
Defense Secretary Robert Gates said this year that he hoped to see U.S. soldier levels in Iraq fall to roughly 100,000 by the end of 2008. Now, that seems virtually impossible.
The testimony by Gen. Petraeus and U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker puts both political parties on the spot. Democrats must explain their support for a fixed timetable for withdrawal in the face of Gen. Petraeus's clear opposition. Republicans will enter the fall campaign with as many as 140,000 soldiers in Iraq, making it harder for them to defend the unpopular war.
It's clear that Iraq's once-unrelenting bloodshed has subsided because of the surge, a cease-fire by Shiite nationalist leader Moqtada al-Sadr and the willingness of many Sunni tribal fighters to ally themselves with the U.S. in the fight against Islamic extremists. But violence began creeping back up in the wake of an ill-fated Iraqi assault against Mr. Sadr's forces in the southern port city of Basra. That sparked fighting across the country and triggered rocket attacks on the fortified Green Zone in Baghdad, killing several U.S. civilians, before Iranian officials helped broker a shaky truce.
Gen. Petraeus alluded to the Basra strike, which he said was poorly planned and executed by Iraqis, as further reason to be cautious about a U.S. drawdown.
"We haven't turned any corners, we haven't seen any lights at the end of the tunnel; the champagne bottle has been pushed to the back of the refrigerator," he said. "And the progress, while real, is fragile and is reversible."
Gen. Petraeus acknowledged that his proposals didn't contain a timetable for further withdrawals, a core component of the policies of the two Democratic presidential candidates. Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have both proposed withdrawing roughly one combat brigade a month after taking office.
Gen. Petraeus's refusal to offer such a timetable infuriated many Democrats. Democrats also said they are concerned that the U.S. is spending tens of billions of dollars in Iraq each year while the Iraqi government held $30 billion in reserves.
Sen. Carl Levin, chairman of the Armed Services Committee, said the Petraeus recommendations amounted to "a plan which has no end to it," which seemed to conflict with Mr. Gates's stated preference for only pausing withdrawals briefly.
"Sir, I'm not using the word 'brief' nor the word 'pause,'" Gen. Petraeus said.
Sen. Evan Bayh (D., Ind.) argued that the seemingly open-ended nature of the U.S. commitment made it easier for the Iraqi government to avoid taking steps to reconcile feuding sectarian groups. "Is it not possible to at least offer some rough estimate about when we will be able to...recommence extricating ourselves by withdrawing more troops from Iraq?" he asked.
Gen. Petraeus insisted it is too early to make judgments about future troop levels in Iraq. "It is just flat not responsible to try to put down a stake in the ground and say, 'This is when it will be' or 'That is when it will be,'" he said.
The two U.S. officials had harsh words for Iran. Gen. Petraeus said Iran is playing a "destructive role" by funneling advanced weaponry into Iraq. Mr. Crocker said Tehran is pursuing a "Lebanization strategy" by backing militias and other proxy groups in Iraq.
Mr. Crocker tried to reassure lawmakers that an emerging agreement between Iraq and the U.S. won't establish permanent U.S. bases inside Iraq or require future presidents to maintain large numbers of troops there. Democrats said any such agreement would require congressional approval; Mr. Crocker said the administration planned to sign a deal on its own.
The hearings mixed somber tributes to the more than 4,000 U.S. military personnel killed in Iraq with occasionally raucous demonstrations by protesters. Republicans seemed eager to enlist Gen. Petraeus as an ally in the political debate over the war. In the run-up to the hearing, Sen. John Cornyn of Texas asked supporters to sign a petition assuring U.S. troops they have the support of all Americans, "no matter what Democrats and their third-party attack machine would have you believe."