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Petraeus: Iraq Is 'Central Front' for Extremists
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After several weeks, Petraeus said, he and his replacement, Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, agreed that a combat brigade could be withdrawn. "What is approved today is in fact that final set of recommendations," Petraeus said.
The net effect will be a reduction in the overall U.S. troop presence to about 138,000, which is still slightly higher than the number of troops in Iraq in January 2007, when Bush announced he would temporarily increase troop levels. Bush said Tuesday that additional withdrawals might be possible during the first half of next year "if the progress in Iraq continues to hold."
But Petraeus said the gains in Iraq are not irreversible. "There are a number of what we call storm clouds in the horizon," he said.
Petraeus said recent intelligence reports suggest that Iranian-backed Shiite fighters who left the country in recent months to avoid a military confrontation with U.S. and Iraqi forces are considering returning to Iraq.
Political tension, particularly over disputed internal boundaries in northern Iraq, had the potential of "erupting into something more significant," the general said.
The Iraqi parliament, which reconvened Tuesday after its summer break, failed to pass a law this year to provide a framework for provincial elections that were scheduled to take place next month. The most explosive issue is a dispute between Arabs and Kurds over control of Kirkuk, an oil-rich northern city.
U.S. officials are also keeping a close eye on the handover of control of the so-called Sons of Iraq, paramilitary groups that have been on the U.S. payroll, to the Iraqi government. The process is expected to start this fall. The Shiite-led government has expressed misgivings about absorbing members of the Sons of Iraq -- many are former Sunni insurgents -- into its security forces.
Staff writer Dan Eggen in Washington contributed to this report.
