Petraeus Lays Out Next Phase, Preps For New Congressional Circus
Times Online:
General David Petraeus, the US commander in Iraq, is drawing up plans to pull more troops out of the country after July on the back of a sharp drop in attacks and long-awaited progress on the political front.
The suggestions, which will depend upon conditions on the ground, are due to be presented as part of a new report on Iraq to George Bush, the US President, towards the end of next month, which will be put before Congress by early April.
He also dodged any question on the potential impact of the US Presidential elections on future plans. Democratic contenders Barrack Obama and Hillary Clinton support an early withdrawal unlike Republican frontrunner John McCain.
General Petraeus, who has won international recognition for his counter-insurgency tactics, said in the wide-ranging interview this week that al-Qaeda remained his biggest concern in Iraq.
He is also keeping a close eye on Iranian links to Shia militias, revealing that he was “puzzled” by a decision by Tehran to postpone four-times a meeting in Baghdad between US and Iranian officials to discuss security in Iraq.
As for Britain’s role in the south, General Petraeus said that he supported the timing of the handover of security in Basra to the Iraqi authorities last December despite ongoing violence in the city, and applauded an initiative by Gordon Brown to focus on development in the oil-rich province.
Sitting in his modest office inside a former palace of Saddam Hussein, which currently houses the American Embassy in the Green Zone, the 55-year-old Iraq veteran has transformed the face of the war since taking charge of US forces a year ago.
The surge from last February of extra US and Iraqi soldiers into hotspot areas, coupled with a decision by disenchanted Sunni Arab tribes to turn against groups such as al-Qaeda has helped produce a drop of more than 60 percent in attacks.
Such achievements, which General Petraeus, ever cautious, still describes as “fragile and tenuous”, came at a price.
“There were days that were about the hardest that I have ever experienced,” he recalled. “There is a discussion of the loneliness of command and it is the most lonely when the going is the most difficult.”
Read The Full Interview Here
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The man is a damned genious. He needs to run for political office when he ETS/retires from the military.
BTW What did Hitlery, Petootsky, Jackie Murtha and the Obomination say about this fine gent? Hmmm…Think they’ll eat their words? Nah… I wonder what new Sharon Stone lines the soon-to-be former Dhimi-rat candidate will use in her next drivel-laced diatribe against this hero?
February 20th, 2008 at 6:01 pmIf we nominated an “officer and a gentleman” (i.e. Petraeus) for president, he would have my 200% support. I’d be darned to heck if he didn’t become president. Like heck that man could make this country shipshape.
February 20th, 2008 at 6:44 pmEvery time I get a good report and try to present it to the Dem’s, I feel just like King Arthur in Monty Pythons Holy Grail trying to get through the forest of the “Knights Who say Ni.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTQfGd3G6dg
February 20th, 2008 at 8:53 pma great Great General and outstanding man,thank you Sir
February 21st, 2008 at 6:03 amI put him among the great military leaders of our time.
February 21st, 2008 at 6:42 am