General Petraeus says “the military objectives of the surge are in large measure being met”
General Petraeus is on Capitol Hill today testifying before the House of Representatives. I just left the Hill, and it is abuzz with talk about this testimony. Here is a key point he made today:
Additionally, in what may be the most significant development of the past 8 months, the tribal rejection of Al Qaeda that started in Anbar Province and helped produce such significant change there has now spread to a number of other locations as well.
Based on all this and on the further progress we believe we can achieve over the next few months, I believe that we will be able to reduce our forces to the pre-surge level of brigade combat teams by next summer without jeopardizing the security gains that we have fought so hard to achieve.
Beyond that, while noting that the situation in Iraq remains complex, difficult, and sometimes downright frustrating, I also believe that it is possible to achieve our objectives in Iraq over time, though doing so will be neither quick nor easy.
I was watching C-Span when the communist front-group Code Pink started yelling at General Petraeus. The committee chairman asked the police to escort these angry leftists from the hearing room. Don’t they have a meeting with Hugo Chavez later today?
Here is General Petraeus’ entire report.