Petraeus Wins Support in Troop Cut Delay

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Military.com | By Christian Lowe | February 25, 2008

The top commander in charge of coalition forces in Iraq said Friday senior Pentagon officials agree with him that a rapid drawdown of U.S. troops in that country should be curtailed in favor of a more gradual, "conditions-based" approach to reductions.

In an exclusive interview with Military.com from his headquarters in Baghdad, Gen. David Petraeus, the Multi-National Forces-Iraq commander, explained that he'd held close consultations with Central Command chief Adm. William Fallon and Defense Secretary Robert Gates and won them over on keeping troop levels steady after July.

"I've had a chance to talk to most of the members of the Joint Chiefs in recent weeks ... [and] Adm. Fallon was just out and I think we see the world the same way," Petraeus explained. "He endorsed ... the concept of a period of consolidation and evaluation following the substantial withdrawals that will be completed by the end of July, before continuing with further reductions."

Listen to the exclusive interview with Gen. David Petraeus

In January, Gates launched what some considered a competing assessment from the Joint Chiefs of Staff on Iraqi security that would coincide with an update on the "surge" Petraeus was scheduled to deliver to Congress in the spring.

Reports have indicated that Joint Chiefs chairman, Adm. Mike Mullen, favors a withdrawal of forces to 10 brigades by the end of the year over concerns that the lengthy Iraq deployments are straining the ground forces beyond repair.

But Petraeus's admission that Fallon -- who's responsible for providing units to combat zones throughout the Middle East -- favors his caution sheds light on wrangling among the top brass within the Pentagon over preserving the force or winning a war.

By July, the force that was once 20 brigades at the peak of the surge in Iraq will be reduced to 15. At issue is how far and how fast to go below that number.

"We're withdrawing a quarter of our combat power by the end of July," Petraeus argued. "But we want to make sure we don't jeopardize the gains that we have fought so hard to secure together with our Iraqi security force counterparts."

Despite his tough stance on bringing troops home before the job is done, Petraeus said he recognizes the strain of the back-to-back stints in the war zone -- a struggle that hits close to home even for those at the top.

"What I'd tell the families is what I tell my own family," said Petraeus, who's spent almost five of the last seven years deployed overseas. "I tell my family that this is a critically important endeavor. That the consequences of not achieving our goals here would be pretty rugged, frankly."

Yet despite the personal strain on his and other troops' families, Petraeus said the difficulty on the home front has to be considered alongside the strategic importance of leaving behind a stable, secure Iraq.

"The impact of achieving our objectives -- and Iraq's objectives -- and the hopes of most of the other countries in the region would be very, very positive," Petraeus said. "The impact of not doing that could be very, very negative."

And the increased troop level over the last year has paid dividends.

When the general testifies before Congress in April with Amb. Ryan Crocker at his side, he'll report that violence has dropped 60 percent since the surge began nearly a year ago and has stayed low for nearly four months. Iraqi forces are increasingly taking the lead on counterinsurgency and counterterrorist operations -- conceiving, planning and executing complex raids and sweeps with only minimal U.S. support and mentorship.

The increased security has led to political gains in the Iraqi government deemed impossible six months ago when Petraeus last appeared before Congress. Progress includes a new pension law, a national budget for 2008, and a provincial elections and power-sharing law.

And in a major development made possible only by the increased troop presence as part of the surge (as Petraeus and other military commanders contend), the U.S. will soon hand over responsibility for the security of Anbar province to Iraqi forces -- a Sunni-dominated area that was two years ago deemed "lost" in a leaked Marine intelligence report.

"Of all of the different areas, it's obviously the most dramatically changed, but one that we have to work very hard to ensure that we maintain those gains and, as we transition to Iraqis, that we keep situational awareness and continue to provide enablers as required and other assistance," Petraeus said.

But that doesn't mean there still aren't difficulties ahead. Though he clearly wants to highlight success, Petraeus is reluctant to let go too early for fear his counterinsurgency strategy hasn't been given enough time to take a firm hold of Iraq's path toward democracy and the defeat of al Qaeda terrorists there.

"There is an enormous amount of work to be done in Iraq," Petraeus acknowledged. "There's nobody here doing victory dances in the end-zone or talking about turning corners or seeing light at the end of the tunnel.

"But there has been significant progress."

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