US general urges Bush to start troop withdrawal

US military objectives were “in large measure being met” – and President George Bush should start withdrawing US forces from Iraq from this month, US Commander General Petraeus said today.

The general was giving his assessment of progress in Iraq since the US troop surge started six months ago.

He told Congress and the American people that the US will be able to reduce troop levels by around 30,000 to pre-surge numbers by next summer, that military objectives were “in large measure being met”, and that Iraqi security forces continued to “shoulder more of the load”.

His assessment came as Downing Street denied reports of a fresh rift with America over Iraq.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s spokesman dismissed remarks by the commander of British forces in Iraq, who said the UK’s departure from Basra Palace last week was delayed for five months because of US pressure.

Commenting on today’s report, shadow foreign secretary William Hague said: “It appears that the US troop surge has had mixed results so far, but it is clear that there is no purely military solution available to the situation in Iraq.

“The surge was intended to give a breathing space to the Iraqi government to allow it to make progress towards national reconciliation. It is of paramount importance that efforts to achieve that progress are now redoubled.”

Mr Hague said British forces should remain in Iraq “only so long as they are needed for the political stability of the country, the security of southern Iraq, and have a defensible military position”.

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Menzies Campbell said the report changed nothing from the UK standpoint.

“There is no case for the continuing open-ended commitment of British forces,” he said.

“Nor does Gen Petraeus provide any help to the British Government in answering the two fundamental questions – what military purpose is being achieved and what political objectives are being met by our continued presence in Iraq?”

Earlier, testifying in a military uniform bearing four general’s stars and a chestful of medals, Gen Petraeus said he recommended the drawdown of US forces from Iraq begin this month with the departure of a California-based Marine unit.

The departure of the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit, from Camp Pendleton, would be followed in December by the redeployment of an unspecified Army brigade, which would number about 3,500 to 4,000 soldiers.

He told the House Foreign Affairs and House Armed Services committees in Washington DC that by July 2008 all the extra 30,000 troops sent to Iraq as part of Bush’s revised war strategy would be withdrawn.

Gen Petraeus said he foresaw even deeper troop cuts beyond July 2008 but he recommended that President Bush wait until March 2008 to decide when to go below 130,000 – and at what pace – amid a transition of US military missions.

“Our experience in Iraq has repeatedly shown that projecting too far into the future is not just difficult, it can be misleading and even hazardous,” he said.

“I believe that we will be able to reduce our forces to the pre-surge level ... by next summer without jeopardising the security gains we have fought so hard to achieve.”

The US commander said al Qaida was “not defeated” but added it was “off balance”.

His assessment came as another senior UK military figure spoke out about British troops in Iraq.

Brigadier James Bashall, the commander of 1 Mechanised Brigade, said the move could have come as early as April, following the successful completion of the six-month security clampdown codenamed Operation Sinbad.

He told the Daily Telegraph: “In April we could have come out and done the transition completely and that would have been the right thing to do but politics prevented that. The Americans asked us to stay for longer.”

The decision to remain in Basra was a consequence of “political strategy being played out at highest level”, said Brig Bashall.

The following months have seen UK troops in Basra come under sustained attack, with more than 1,500 mortar rounds fired at the base, 11 soldiers killed and 62 wounded.

The 550 men of 4 Rifles finally quit their last stronghold in the city last Monday, withdrawing under cover of darkness to Basra Air Station and handing over the palace site to Iraqi Government forces.

It is understood that the Iraqi authorities did not decide until May that they wanted to occupy the palace site following the withdrawal of the British garrison. They then required some time to form and train a palace protection unit to take possession of the base.

Also today, a nationwide opinion poll in Iraq showed that most Iraqis think the US troop surge has failed to improve their lives and has instead made matters much worse.

Asked about the US troop surge over the last six months, the majority of Iraqis said the situation was “worse” regarding security in the areas the troops were sent to (70%), security elsewhere (68%), conditions for political dialogue (70%) and the pace of reconstruction (67%) and economic development (67%).

The poll, carried out by D3 Systems and KA Research Ltd for the BBC, ABC News and NHK of Japan, found large majorities of Iraqis thought the security, reconstruction, political and economic situations had all worsened.

Since the last poll, in March 2007, the number of people who want coalition forces to leave Iraq immediately has gone up from 35% to 47%.

But more than half of those questioned (53%) said the troops should remain until security has been improved.