Petraeus says draw down

Ge n. Petraeus and Amb. Crocker speak before they testify at a joint committee hearing on Capitol Hill.

Now General Petraeus has recommended a troop reduction to pre-surge by the summer of next year Petraeus recommendation Petraeus chart. This is based on the fact that the surge is meeting the military objective; however, as he reported, the success is uneven. He said that there has been a reduction of suicide and car bombing from 175 in March to 90 in August. There have been 140 new Iraqi forces with 95% of them taking the lead. He also said that the reduction can continue but he wanted to wait until then. Now it’s time for both Democrats and Republicans to come to gather, say the course, and watch how the Iraqis stand up as Coalition troops stand down.