What ever happened to that anti-war movement?
Fresh Iraq troop cuts hinge on security: Petraeus
By Mohammed Abbas
Mon Jul 14, 9:17 AM ET
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The U.S. military commander in Iraq said on Monday that security conditions would determine whether he makes recommendations for further troop withdrawals in the coming months.
The comments by General David Petraeus came a day after The New York Times reported the Bush administration was already considering more troop cuts beginning in September.
There are some 146,000 U.S. soldiers in Iraq, down from a peak of 170,000 in 2007 when President George W. Bush ordered five additional combat brigades to Iraq to try to drag the country back from the brink of civil war.
The last of those extra brigades has already begun leaving Iraq and will have completed its withdrawal this month.
"We are conducting a continuous assessment of the situation ... and should the conditions allow it, we will make additional recommendations, perhaps in the latter part of the summer, about additional reductions," Petraeus told a news conference.
Petraeus is expected to make his recommendations on future troop levels in a report to the U.S. Congress in September.
U.S. troop levels in Iraq is a key issue in November's presidential election battle between Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama. McCain supports the Bush administration's current strategy, while Obama wants a timetable for withdrawal.
Violence in Iraq has fallen dramatically mainly due to the U.S. troop buildup and a rebellion by Sunni Arab tribal leaders against al Qaeda and anti-American Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's ceasefire.
"The number of attacks in Iraq now each week is at the lowest it has been since March 2004," Petraeus said.
Fresh Iraq troop cuts hinge on security: Petraeus
By Mohammed Abbas
Mon Jul 14, 9:17 AM ET
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The U.S. military commander in Iraq said on Monday that security conditions would determine whether he makes recommendations for further troop withdrawals in the coming months.
The comments by General David Petraeus came a day after The New York Times reported the Bush administration was already considering more troop cuts beginning in September.
There are some 146,000 U.S. soldiers in Iraq, down from a peak of 170,000 in 2007 when President George W. Bush ordered five additional combat brigades to Iraq to try to drag the country back from the brink of civil war.
The last of those extra brigades has already begun leaving Iraq and will have completed its withdrawal this month.
"We are conducting a continuous assessment of the situation ... and should the conditions allow it, we will make additional recommendations, perhaps in the latter part of the summer, about additional reductions," Petraeus told a news conference.
Petraeus is expected to make his recommendations on future troop levels in a report to the U.S. Congress in September.
U.S. troop levels in Iraq is a key issue in November's presidential election battle between Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama. McCain supports the Bush administration's current strategy, while Obama wants a timetable for withdrawal.
Violence in Iraq has fallen dramatically mainly due to the U.S. troop buildup and a rebellion by Sunni Arab tribal leaders against al Qaeda and anti-American Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's ceasefire.
"The number of attacks in Iraq now each week is at the lowest it has been since March 2004," Petraeus said.
