Patraeus in US Troop Withdrawals Pause Call
General David Patraeus has recommended that the US cease withdrawing troops from Iraq after July, in order to protect the gains made thus far.
His comment came as he, alongside US ambassador Ryan Crocker, was delivering a report to Congress on the impact that the 2007 US troop surge has had on Iraq’s security. “Significant”, albeit “uneven” progress had been made, said Patraeus, urging that levels of US soldiers in Iraq would need to be reviewed in coming months.
Both Crocker and Patraeus testified in front of the Armed Services Committee.
Iraq's Security Improved
Patraeus last reported to Congress in September 2007. In the intervening months, he said, Iraq’s security had improved, with a substantial improvement noted between the present day and the time before the additional 30,000 US troops that made up the surge had entered Iraq,
However, he added, the situation “remains exceedingly complex and challenging.”
Patraeus commented on how “a resurgence of al-Qaeda Iraq” could develop, or how Shia militants could act against the ceasefire ordered by Moqtada Sadr.
"What has been achieved is substantial, but it is also reversible", Crocker added.
"Immense challenges remain and progress is uneven and often frustratingly slow, but there is progress.”
The committee’s chairman, Democrat Carl Levin, had expected the call for US troop pull-outs to be paused, referring to an "open-ended pause from July" as an "invitation to continuing dependency".
Republican Senator John McCain, however, spoke of how success in Iraq could be achieved, and expressed his concern that, if troops were withdrawn, the possible consequent failure could lead to the US military entering Iraq again, but with more costly results.
"Our allies, Arab countries, the UN and the Iraqis themselves will not step up to their responsibilities if we recklessly retreat", he asserted.
Source – Armed Forces International’s US Correspondent
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