General John Abizaid, head of U.S. Central Command, told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Wednesday that American forces should not be pulled out of Iraq prematurely, but also rejected proposals to send additional troops, arguing that a larger U.S. presence discourages Iraqis from taking responsibility for their own security.
Abizaid testified shortly after the November 7 midterm elections, in which voters handed Democrats control of both the House and Senate for the first time since 1994, a result widely interpreted as a rebuke of President George W. Bush's Iraq policy. The new Congress is set to convene in January.
Democratic Senator Carl Levin, expected to chair the Armed Services Committee, called for a phased U.S. withdrawal beginning within four to six months, saying Iraqi leaders had failed to reach the political compromises needed to reduce sectarian bloodshed between Sunni and Shiite factions.
Abizaid noted that religious violence had declined since August but remained at unacceptable levels. The Bush administration is conducting a broad policy review and awaiting recommendations from the bipartisan Iraq Study Group, whose report is expected in early December.
The general also acknowledged that more U.S. troops should have been deployed in the months following the April 2003 fall of Saddam Hussein's government, a point that had been raised by former Army chief Eric Shinseki before the invasion.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in November 2006, in its own words.