US generals see hope for troop reductions in Iraq
- added May 22, 2008
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The American military commanders in Iraq offered a cautiously optimistic picture of the situation there on Thursday, seeing the possibility of troop reductions this fall and no need for the United States to take extra security steps for provincial elections a half-year from now.
“I do believe that 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,” Gen. David H. Petraeus told the Senate Armed Services Committee.
And Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, who will soon succeed General Petraeus as commander in Iraq, said he did not foresee a need for extra troops to guard against violence around the time of the Iraqi elections.
But the generals’ favorable predictions were tempered by General Petraeus’s acknowledgment that Iraqi security forces will probably not be able to take the lead role in all provinces of the country this year, as the Pentagon had predicted earlier. He also said that the provincial elections may be held in November rather than October because of the recent violence in Basra.
“I do believe that 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,” Gen. David H. Petraeus told the Senate Armed Services Committee.
And Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, who will soon succeed General Petraeus as commander in Iraq, said he did not foresee a need for extra troops to guard against violence around the time of the Iraqi elections.
But the generals’ favorable predictions were tempered by General Petraeus’s acknowledgment that Iraqi security forces will probably not be able to take the lead role in all provinces of the country this year, as the Pentagon had predicted earlier. He also said that the provincial elections may be held in November rather than October because of the recent violence in Basra.
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