Washington – The commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East said Tuesday that he has dropped plans to cut American troop levels in Iraq, as two U.S. statesmen warned the Iraqi government that speedy progress was needed to reduce violence and get water and electricity flowing.
Army Gen. John Abizaid, chief of the Tampa, Fla.-based U.S. Central Command, noted that six months ago he had anticipated bringing home two additional brigades, nearly 7,000 service members, by now.
Instead, Abizaid said, U.S. troop strength in Iraq will stay at 147,000 soldiers. “We clearly did not achieve the force level we had hoped to,” he told reporters.
He blamed worsening sectarian violence in Iraq and lagging development of Iraq’s police force. “I think that this level will probably have to be sustained through the spring, and then we’ll re-evaluate,” he said.
While the commander praised Iraqi forces, he also expressed impatience with the pace of self-sufficiency.
Separately, James Baker, secretary of state under President George H.W. Bush, and Lee Hamilton, retired Democratic House member from Indiana and former chairman of the House International Relations Committee, warned that the U.S.-backed Iraqi government risked losing support from the Iraqi and American people unless it showed more progress on security, sectarian reconciliation, and electricity and water production within three months.
