Odierno: Any quick change risks troop lives; says September report only preliminary; 'In order to do a good assessment I need at least until November'

Above: Reservists with Alpha Company, 1-175th Infantry train at Fort Dix last week for their upcoming 15-month deployment this summer.

Any change of military strategy in Iraq should be done slowly and deliberately or U.S. troops and the Iraqi population will be put in greater danger, a top U.S. commander said Thursday.

Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno also told reporters at the Defense Department that while he will be able to give U.S. leaders an assessment in September of whether of progress in Iraq is continuing, he will need more time to tell if improvements represent long term trends.

"In order to do a good assessment I need at least until November," Odierno said in a video conference from Iraq.

Odierno painted an optimistic picture of progress in Iraq since the U.S. troop buildup was completed about a month ago and the Baghdad security plan was ramped up with large-scale operations.

Read the rest at the International Herald Tribune

Related Link:
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

Related Link:
Chairman of Joint Chiefs Pace: Bigger troop buildup an option

Related Link:
Report: Internal White House debates raging over 'post-surge redeployment'; Gates pressing for pullback from Baghdad in 2008

Related Link:
Gates, Mixon: Withdrawal logistics could take years

Related Link:
Lynch: 'Surge' needs to last through Spring, 2008

Related Link:
Lynch: Not enough troops to maintain security

Related Link:
Chairman of Joint Chiefs Pace: Number of Iraqi battalions declines from 10 to 6, calls it a 'minor variation'

Related Link:
Marine Commandant Conway: Marine Corps resisting pressure to extend combat deployments

Related Link:
Army Chief of Staff Casey: Deployments may extend past 15 months

Related Link:
Petraeus: Expect insurgent 'sensational attacks' to 'grab the headlines to create a mini-Tet'; Says Sept. report will give 'implications' of 'options'

Related Link:
Lynch: Withdrawal of surge forces will escalate violence; 'It would be a mess'

Related Link:
Report: Gates seeks deal for 'long-term presence' in exchange for troop drawdown by 2009

Related Link:
Report: U.S. military has serious doubt in Iraq troops

Related Link:
Pittard: 'A couple of years' before Iraqis can provide full security

Related Link:
Petraeus: No foreseeable drawdown of troops; 'We have a lot of heavy lifting to do'

Related Link:
Troops denied month break

Related Link:
Report: Iraqi soldiers face Baghdad rotations of only 3 months

Related Link:
Congress, DoD spar over soldier testimony on Iraqi forces training

Related Link:
Bush signs Democrat-controlled Congress' $95 billion bill to fund the war with no restrictions through September

Related Link:
General Dempsey: U.S., Iraq to spend $14 billion for 40,000 new Iraqi soldiers

Related Link:
Pentagon extends tours to 15 months for all active-duty army troops in Iraq, Afghanistan; Guard, Reserve, Marines excepted