The top US commander in Iraq this evening said the number of US troops in Iraq could be cut by next summer to roughly 130,000, its level before this year's "surge" of 30,000 forces, without jeopardizing security improvements.
Speaking to a congressional hearing on a war that has killed more than 3,700 US troops and tens of
Gen David Petraeus the top US military commander in Iraq.
thousands of Iraqis, Gen. David Petraeus also strongly endorsed US President George W. Bush's decision to add forces this year.
"The military objectives of the surge are in large measure being met," Gen Petraeus said in an appearance with US ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker that may set the stage for the political debate in Washington on when and whether to withdraw forces.
"I believe we will be able to reduce our forces to pre-surge level by next summer without jeopardizing the security gains," Gen Petraeus added.
There are 168,000 US troops in Iraq. A cut of the sort outlined by Petraeus would restore troop levels to around 130,000, roughly where they were in January when Bush decided to add troops to give Iraqi leaders breathing space to achieve political reconciliation among warring Shi'ites and Sunnis.
As the hearing began, Gen Petraeus listened to deep skepticism from the Democrats who seized control of Congress last year largely because of the profound discontent with the war among American voters.
Gen David Petraeus
House Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton, a Missouri Democrat, told Petraeus the Iraq war had left the United States unable to confront other challenges.
"The troops in Iraq are not available for other missions; to go into Afghanistan to pursue Osama bin Laden" whose al Qaeda militant group attacked the United States six years ago tomorrow, Skelton said.
"The administration's myopic policies in Iraq have created a fiasco," added House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Tom Lantos, a California Democrat. "The administration has sent you here today to convince the members of these two committees and the Congress that victory is at hand ... I don't buy it."
The Iraq war began in March 2003 when US-led forces invaded to topple Saddam Hussein but has dragged on for more than four years amid a vicious insurgency and brutal sectarian warfare.
Although violence has ebbed in some parts of the country, it continues to rage in others. A suicide truck bomb killed 10 people and wounded 60 in northern Iraq while a car bomb killed two people and wounded six in central Baghdad, police said.