Petraeus: September report to recommend continuing 'surge' through Summer 2008

Above: An Iraqi man waits while U.S. soldiers search his home in the Adhamiyah district of Baghdad on Monday.

The top U.S. general and diplomat in Iraq warned on Thursday against cutting short the American troop buildup and suggested they would urge Congress in September to give President Bush's strategy more time.

Ambassador Ryan Crocker and Gen. David Petraeus, in separate Associated Press interviews at their offices in the U.S. Embassy on the banks of the Tigris, were careful not to define a timeframe for continuing the counterinsurgency strategy and the higher U.S. troop levels that began six months ago.

Still, Petraeus' comments signaled that he would like to see a substantial U.S. combat force remain on its current course well into 2008 and perhaps beyond. He said that a drawdown from today's level of 160,000 U.S. troops is coming but he would not say when.

Petraeus said he and his top deputy, Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno, are working on how to carry out a reduction in the extra troops Bush ordered to Baghdad and to Anbar province. He said the drawdown would be done "over time, without undermining what we've fought to achieve."

Read the rest at ABC News

Related Link:
Reports: Petraeus-Crocker classified plan seeks 'sustainable security by the summer of 2009'

Related Link:
General Pittard: Handing over security control 'not a main priority'; At least 2 more years needed

Related Link:
Iraq National Security Advisor: Iraqi takeover of security won't meet goal

Related Link:
Quarterly Report: Iraq security effort lagging

Related Link:
General Lynch: Surge must last into summer of next year

Related Link:
General Gaskin: 2 more years needed to support Iraqi security forces

Related Link:
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'

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