The top U.S. military leader in Iraq on Thursday said that further U.S. troop reductions in Iraq are likely to be requested by September. General David Petraeus made his comments before the Senate Armed Services Committee. “My sense is that I will be able to make a recommendation at that time [in September] for some further reductions,” Petraeus said. “I don't want to imply that that means [a particular brigade or major combat formation]…But I do believe there will be certain assets that, as we are already looking at the picture right now, we'll be able to recommend can be either redeployed or not deployed to the theater in the fall,” Petraeus said. Senator Carl Levin (Democrat from Michigan), who is the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, welcomed Petraeus' statement saying “that's good news to most of us.”
