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Petraeus: 45 Day Evaluations Will Determine Troop Withdrawals
Gen. David Petraeus' opening statement was no surprise either, with the general providing a battery of slides showing that U.S. forces have made great strides in curbing violence, building up the Iraqi forces, etc. -- but adding the necessary caveat that "innumerable challenges remain."
Towards the end, Petraeus said that starting in July, when the troop level will return to its pre-surge level, he would begin a "45 day period of consolidation and evaluation." After that period, he'd make further recommendations "as conditions permit." That arrangement does not allow a "set withdrawal timetable," he said, but the process would continue with recommendations (more of the same or draw down troops) made every 45 days.
Update: Here's how Petraeus put it:
After weighing these factors, I recommended to my chain of command that we continue the drawdown in the surge to the combat forces and that upon the withdrawal of the last surge brigade combat team in July, we undertake a 45-day period of consolidation and evaluation. At the end of that period, we will commence a process of assessment to examine the conditions on the ground and over time determine when we can make recommendations for further reductions. This process will be continuous, with recommendations for further reductions made as conditions permit.This approach does not allow establishment of a set withdrawal timetable, however it does provide the flexibility those of us on the ground need to preserve the still-fragile security gains our troops have fought so far and sacrifice so much to achieve.
Comments (11)
Indeed, sounds like the good general is doing a rather fine imitation of General Cornwallis during the Southern campaign leading up to and including Yorktown.
April 8, 2008 11:03 AM | Reply | Permalink
I am planning on becoming a billioaire, then marrying a top drawer Hollywood actress, and buying a major league baseball team.
But innumerable challenges remain.
April 8, 2008 11:08 AM | Reply | Permalink
Why isn't the Beltway having the same disconnect with reality I have every time this guy opens his mouth? Will somebody kindly tell this sorry S.O.S. to S.T.F.U. and then fade him away . . . Quickly!
Congress . . . We're waiting!
April 8, 2008 11:26 AM | Reply | Permalink
Well gee Dave, if the challenges are innumerable it doesn't seem like there's much left to do other than leave is there? I thought we were there to win? If you can't even put a number on the challenges we have to tackle before we win then I think we can safely say that we won't and can't.
Better get to work on that number, numbskull.
April 8, 2008 11:36 AM | Reply | Permalink
Does Amb. Crocker have a speech impediment, or is his need to lie the cause of his constant stammering? Both he and Petraeus use "um", "er", "uh" as filler while they come up with their next best spin talking point.
Can't listen anymore...
PEACE
April 8, 2008 11:40 AM | Reply | Permalink
ttery of slides showing that U.S. forces have made great strides in curbing violence, building up the Iraqi forces, etc
None of which connects well with reality, does it? Another Powerpoint slideshow for the peons, before asking them to fund another Friedman unit of death and mayhem.
April 8, 2008 11:54 AM | Reply | Permalink
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) — Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr called off a mass demonstration for Wednesday in Baghdad and threatened to formally end the seven-month cease-fire of his Mehdi Army militia.
Fighting in al-Sadr’s Baghdad stronghold of Sadr City stretched into its third consecutive day Tuesday. At least 36 people have been killed and 139 wounded, an Interior Ministry official said.
Eight of the 11 U.S. troops killed in Iraq on Sunday and Monday died in fighting in Baghdad.
Four U.S. soldiers were killed Monday in the capital, the U.S. military said.
One soldier was killed by a roadside bomb, two by a rocket-propelled grenade and one by small-arms fire after a roadside bomb detonated near his vehicle during a patrol in eastern Baghdad, the U.S. military said.
The deaths bring the U.S. death toll in the Iraq war to 4,024, including eight civilian Defense Department contractors.
Fighting in eastern Baghdad between U.S. troops and Shiite militiamen — particularly those from al-Sadr’s Mehdi Army — has intensified in recent days.
Militants have been firing rockets, rocket-propelled grenades and mortars at patrols in Sadr City and other neighborhoods and into the bastion of U.S. power in Iraq known as the Green Zone, the U.S. military said.
April 8, 2008 11:58 AM | Reply | Permalink
We rushed into war. Rushed up the MISSION ACCOMPLISHED sign. Putting or toys away was never as much fun as getting them out in the first place.
April 8, 2008 12:24 PM | Reply | Permalink
So in July, which is three months from now, Petraeus will begin his 45 day evaluation... after which he'll forward his recommendations...
Sounds to me that it will take another Friedman* before we can really know if "the surge" worked well enough to lower troop levels...
Wow. Turning the corner is always just a Friedman* away. And yet, we never really know how much "progress" we've ever made.
Petraeus makes me ashamed that I ever wore the same uniform. I was taught that an Army officer is guided by Courage, Candor, and Commitment. Petraeus is such a politicized piece of shit that he is incapable of speaking with candor because of his cowardice and fear of Bush & Cheney and because his commitment is only to himself and his political sponsors.
*A "Friedman" is a period of at least six months in the future. The unit is named after New York Times foreign affairs columnist, Tom Friedman. See
http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=2884
April 8, 2008 12:54 PM | Reply | Permalink
The goal is to keep things as stable as they can until McCain is elected and Bush is out of office. Then it's up to the new guy. Who won't be McCain.
April 8, 2008 1:17 PM | Reply | Permalink
Notice how well this goes along with Republican campaign strategy. We have this report with McCain giving his campaign key note (I mean lead introduction as senior member of the committee,) In July, just in time for the conventions, we will have the next report. Finally, in October, just in time for election eve, we will have the third report.
See the pattern.
April 8, 2008 2:20 PM | Reply | Permalink