Washington Awaits Petraeus Report

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Washington Awaits Petraeus Report
April 07, 2008
Chicago Tribune

WASHINGTON - On the heels of tough fighting in southern Iraq and renewed concerns over strains on the U.S. military, the conversation on America's long-term prospects in Iraq has shifted once again, creating an altered backdrop for an appearance this week by Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker.

The much-anticipated visit from the U.S. commander and the senior American diplomat in Iraq comes days after Gen. Richard Cody, the Army's departing vice chief of staff, warned that lengthy and repeated deployments are placing "a significant risk" on the largest branch of the military.

The political landscape has been further changed by renewed violence in two of Iraq's largest cities. On Sunday, rockets slammed into the fortified Green Zone and a military base in Baghdad, killing three U.S. troops and wounding 31 others. At least 20 Iraqis were killed in the capital as U.S. and Iraqi forces battled militiamen loyal to Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr. The fighting followed a six-day campaign in Basra by the Shiite-dominated Iraqi Army - aided by U.S. and British troops - against Sadr's Mahdi Army militia that ended without a clear winner.

Critics of last year's buildup of nearly 30,000 troops in Iraq say the indecisive nature of the battle - some believe it left Sadr with a strengthened hand - underscores that the Iraqi government has made little progress on the security or political fronts.

"The surge is prolonging instability, not creating the conditions for unity as the president claims," said retired Lt. Gen. William Odom, who headed the National Security Agency under President Ronald Reagan. "More disturbing, Prime Minister (Nouri al-)Maliki has initiated military action and then dragged in U.S. forces to help his own troops destroy his Shiite competitors."


Rest of article at: http://www.military.com/news/article/washington-awaits-patraeus-report.html