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Petraeus calls for pause in troop withdrawals
Published in Saudi Press Agency on 08 - 04 - 2008

The top US commander in Iraq, General David
Petraeus, warned Tuesday the progress that has been made by the
increased American troop presence was "fragile" and recommended a
45-day pause in further withdrawals once the surge ends in July, according to dpa.
"Though Iraq remains a violent country we do see progress in the
security arena," Petraeus said at the opening of two days of
congressional testimony to provide an update on the situation in
Iraq along with US ambassador Ryan Crocker.
Petraeus told the Senate Armed Services Committee that Iraq's
security forces were growing stronger but still needed assistance,
and the improvement in stability relied on the ceasefire by
Shiite militias affiliated with radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-
Sadr.
Petraeus appeared before Congress more than a year after
President George W Bush ordered an additional 30,000 troops to Iraq,
which expanded the US presence to 160,000. Bush has said he will
follow the advice provided by his advisors on the ground in Iraq.
Petraeus said the 45-day period was needed to evaluate the
security situation and said an assessment could take longer,
prompting the majority Democrats to complain that the strategy
offered no timeframe for a lasting drawdown of US forces.
"That is a clear open ended pause," Senator Carl Levin, the
chairman of the committee, said.
Petraeus said the surge has "substantially" reduced civilian
deaths and the sectarian violence that peaked in late 2006 and early
2007 and persuaded Bush to deploy the additional troops. He also
said the al-Qaeda's effort in Iraq along with other extremists have
been "dealt serious blows."
But the flare up in violence in recent weeks, namely because of
fighting between Iraq forces and Shiite militias in the southern
Iraqi city of Basra and parts of Baghdad, shows "innumerable
challenges remain," Petraeus said.
"As events in the past two weeks have reminded us and as I have
repeatedly cautioned, the progress made since last spring is fragile
and reversible," Petraeus said, adding the al-Qaeda remained a
"major threat."
Iraq Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki in late March ordered an
offensive against the Shiite militias controlling Basra but the
battle ended in a stalemate and al-Sadr ordered the militants to
stop fighting.
The failure of the Iraqi forces to decisively prevail against the
militants prompted concerns in Washington that they were still
incapable of providing security without assistance from the
Americans.
"It could have been much better planned," Petraeus said of the
assault.


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