Premature drawdown in Iraq would be "devastating" : Petraeus

WASHINGTON - US war commander General David Petraeus warned Monday a "premature" drawdown of US troops from Iraq would be "devastating."
"A premature drawdown of our forces would likely have devastating consequences," Petraeus said at a crucial hearing of the House of Representatives Armed Services and Foreign Affairs committees.
The four-star general said that though the 168,000 US troop number in Iraq could start to be reduced to and beyond levels which existed before the current troop surge, further decision on force numbers could not be made until next March.
"In my professional judgment, it would be premature to make recommendations on the pace of such reductions at this time," Petraeus said.
"In fact, our experience in Iraq has repeatedly shown that projecting too far into the future is not just difficult, it can be misleading and even hazardous."
col/mac

09/10/2007 18:09 GMT