Petraeus Discounts Another Troop Surge

WASHINGTON — The top U.S. commander in Iraq said Wednesday that another troop surge would be unlikely, even if security conditions in the embattled country worsen in the months ahead.

"That would be a pretty remote thought in my mind," Army Gen. David Petraeus told the House Armed Services Committee during a second day of lengthy hearings on Capitol Hill.

President Bush is scheduled to address the nation Thursday on the way forward in Iraq. He is expected to endorse a recommendation by Petraeus that U.S. troop levels in Iraq be cut to about 140,000 by mid July - down from nearly 160,000 now - and that no further reductions be made until at least the fall.

"You've heard the president say for years that he is the type of commander-in-chief who listens to his commanders on the ground to be the experts who can provide the best advice to him," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino told reporters.

Bush's goal, she said, is "to make sure that we have enough troops in the area to do the job that needs to be done and that we are working on the other tracks, as well — economic, diplomatic and political — to make sure that the next president, whoever it is, has a good foundation from which to start."

In a second day of marathon congressional hearings, Petraeus and U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker stressed the security gains on the ground in Iraq, where 4,017 U.S. troops have died and more than 30,000 others have been wounded. Both conceded, however, that political reconciliation has yet to gain traction among rival Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds.

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Howard Berman, D-Calif., said the war has so far strengthened neighboring Iran, an oil-rich U.S. rival long suspected of seeking nuclear weapons.

"The most disturbing strategic development of the war is that Iran, the most dangerous state in the region, so far has emerged as the winner," said Berman. "Their enemy (toppled Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein), is gone and in his place is a government seemingly very open to Iranian friendship and influence."

Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida, the ranking Republican on the committee, countered that drawing down U.S. forces would further cement Iranian gains.

"Immediate disengagement would only embolden the forces of radical Islam and leave an enormous power vacuum in Iraq, one to be filled by the regime in Iran," said Ros-Lehtinen. "Iran is engaged in a proxy war against us in Iraq."

Petraeus and Crocker reiterated earlier testimony that Iran has been providing explosives and other technology, as well as military training, for insurgents attacking U.S. forces in Iraq.

Should security conditions in Iraq deteriorate, Petraeus said, U.S. and Iraqi forces would likely be repositioned, rather than reinforced.

"This is about risk," Petraeus said in response to a question about what he would recommend to the U.S. president who takes office in January 2009.

"What we want to do, of course, is to have dialogue within the chain of command about what the mission is, what the desired end state is, the objectives and so forth," said Petraeus. "Then it is up to other folks to determine where they want to take the risk."

As was the case in a day of Senate hearings on Tuesday, partisanship showed the way to policy positions in the House, with Republicans generally endorsing the Petraeus approach while Democrats called for swifter troop drawdowns.

House Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton, D-Mo., said the Iraq war has driven U.S. troop readiness down to "unprecedented levels" that have put the country at risk, should the country face a surprise military challenge on another front.

"Troops in Iraq, or those in units recovering from being in Iraq, cannot be sent to Afghanistan," where al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden is believed to be hiding, said Skelton. "Protecting this nation from direct attack is job number one, yet our allocation of forces does not match this imperative."

Petraeus responded, though, that the war-seasoned U.S. forces in Iraq "are better prepared to do what we're doing there now than they ever have been at any time that I've been in Iraq."

At the same time, he added, "No question about the strain, the sacrifice on our troops an on their families, some of them making the ultimate sacrifice."