Washington – The sectarian violence engulfing Iraq will only grow worse if the U.S. abandons its current military strategy and begins to withdraw its forces, the top American war commander said Thursday.
Army Gen. David Petraeus, speaking at a Pentagon news conference, said he was trying to steer clear of the “political minefields” of Washington and avoided any direct comment on the political showdown between Congress and the White House over Iraq.
But he said that limited improvements resulting from President Bush’s new war strategy would be eroded by troop withdrawals. The Democratic measure would require withdrawals to begin by Oct. 1, with a goal of completing the U.S. pullout in six months.
“My sense is that there would be an increase in sectarian violence, a resumption of sectarian violence, were the presence of our forces and Iraqi forces at that time to be reduced,” Petraeus said.
Bush summoned Petraeus to Washington this week to help the administration make its best case for keeping U.S. troops in Iraq.
Petraeus also offered new detail of Iranian involvement in Iraq, addressed U.S. efforts to counter the suicide car bombs that have killed hundreds of Iraqis in recent months and warned of the likelihood of additional American casualties.
Petraeus said that he has agreed to provide Defense Secretary Robert Gates with an assessment of the new strategy in September, along with a recommendation of how to improve American military operations.
Petraeus said the current situation in Iraq is the “the most complex and challenging” he has yet seen. Still, he cautioned that the situation in Iraq is likely to get even more difficult and that could mean more American deaths.
