General Petraeus slammed the Obama withdrawal plan for Iraq and said the US can expect further troop cuts due to the great success of the Bush Surge.
US General David Petraeus, the top US commander in Iraq, said Thursday he expects to recommend further cuts in US forces in Iraq before he relinquishes command in September because of improved security. (AFP/Tim Sloan)
General Petraeus completely rejected Democrat Barack Obamas plans to immediately begin to remove our troops from Iraq.
Petraeus says US presence in Iraq blunts Iran’s growing influence in the region.
Iran Focus reported:
Army Gen. David Petraeus, who is to assume control of U.S. forces in the Middle East, says that a continued U.S. presence in Iraq is more likely to blunt, rather than inflame, Iran’s growing influence in the region.
In a 46-page question-and-answer document submitted in advance of his confirmation hearing on Thursday, Petraeus says the U.S. must work on developing more leverage — primarily diplomatic or economic — to pressure Tehran to abandon its nuclear program. But, he notes, the U.S. must retain military strike options as a “last resort.”
“A destabilized Iraq, rampant terrorism in the region and a nuclear-armed Middle East are not in any nation’s long-term interest, including Iran’s,” according to the document, obtained by The Associated Press.
Last month, President Bush picked Petraeus, a four-star general, to replace Navy Adm. William J. Fallon as chief of U.S. Central Command in Tampa, Fla. The command’s area of responsibility includes some of the most troubling hotspots: Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Lebanon, parts of Africa and Afghanistan.
The Washington Post has more on the expected troop reductions this fall focusing more on the political implications rather than the fact that this proves the surge was a great success.
