Petraeus wants withdrawal decision postponed

[unhappycamper]

Petraeus wants withdrawal decision postponed
By Jennifer Loven - The Associated Press
Posted : Friday Feb 29, 2008 21:42:17 EST

The top U.S. commander in Iraq will ask President Bush to wait until as late as September to decide when to bring home more troops than already scheduled, a senior administration official said Friday.

Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker are due to return to Washington from Baghdad in April to report to Congress on how the war-fighting strategy is working and how to proceed on troop-level decisions. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to more freely describe administration thinking, said their testimony would come April 8-9.

Petraeus has talked in recent weeks about favoring a “period of assessment” after the currently planned troop withdrawals conclude in mid-July. He has said a pause seems necessary to give a clearer indication of the impact of those troop cuts — on the insurgency and other local conditions — before recommending any more.

The official, who briefed reporters at the White House, said Petraeus will recommend in his April report that the pause last for “four to six weeks-ish.” That would mean a new assessment of troop levels wouldn’t come until mid-August or even sometime in September.

A suspension is based on the notion that continuing reductions beyond July at the currently planned pace could lead to an erosion in the still-fragile security gains made over the last several months.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/02/ap_petraeus_withdrawal_082908/

[Newsjock]

1. Gee, five weeks away from the election ...

... I wonder what he could possibly decide!