Chairman of Joint Chiefs Pace: 'What I'm hearing now is a sea change' in Iraq security; Says Pentagon will present own recommendations in September

Donald Rumsfeld with General Peter Pace, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs. In an October press conference, Pace said of the then Secretary of Defense, "He leads in a way that the good Lord tells him is best for our country."

In his most optimistic remarks since the U.S. troop buildup began, Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Tuesday that Iraq has undergone a “sea change” in security in recent months, and that this will influence his recommendation to President Bush on how long to continue the current strategy.

After conferring with Maj. Gen. Walter Gaskin and other commanders in this provincial capital west of Baghdad, Pace told reporters he has gathered a positive picture of the security environment not only here but also in Baghdad, where he began his Iraq visit on Monday...

“What I'm hearing now is a sea change that is taking place in many places here,” he replied. “It's no longer a matter of pushing al-Qaeda out of Ramadi, for example, but rather – now that they have been pushed out – helping the local police and the local army have a chance to get their feet on the ground and set up their systems”...

Pace said the chiefs of the Army, Marine Corps, Navy and Air Force are developing their own assessment of the situation in Iraq, to be presented to Bush in September, that will be separate from a report to Congress that month by Gen. David Petraeus, the top commander for Iraq.

Read the rest at the San Diego Tribune

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