(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-04-09 23:36

WASHINGTON - The Bush administration's Iraq policy has left the United States with insufficient resources to protect itself from attack, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee said Wednesday.

Gen. David Petraeus, left, listens as Ambassador Ryan Crocker testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, April 8, 2008, before the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on the status of the war in Iraq. [Agencies]

"When looking at the needs in Afghanistan, the effort in Iraq - however important - is putting at risk our ability to decisively defeat those most likely to attack us," said Rep. Ike Skelton, D-Mo. "Iraq is also preventing us from effectively preparing for the next conflict."

Skelton's comments came on the second day of testimony by Gen. David Petraeus, the top US commander in Iraq, and Ryan Crocker, the US ambassador there. Petraeus told lawmakers that security gains in the war zone are too fragile to promise further drawdowns.

"The situation in certain areas is still unsatisfactory and innumerable challenges remain," Petraeus told the House panel.

Crocker said political and economic process in recent months has been significant, but added: "I must underscore, however, that these gains are fragile, and they are reversible."

Republicans were considerably more optimistic about the situation in Iraq than last year.

"No one can deny that the security situation in Iraq has improved," said Rep. Duncan Hunter of California, the No. 1 Republican on the committee.

Petraeus said he has recommended to President Bush that the US complete, by the end of July, the withdrawal of the 20,000 extra troops. Beyond that, the general proposed a 45-day period of "consolidation and evaluation," to be followed by an indefinite period of assessment before he would recommend any further pullouts.

The White House signaled Wednesday - as Bush has for weeks - that it was likely the president would embrace recommendations of Petraeus and his generals in the field. White House press secretary Dana Perino said it is "within the realm of possibility" that Bush would discuss in his Thursday speech the length of soldiers' tours of duty in Iraq. The administration is expected to announce this week that tours would be reduced from the current 15 months to 12 months.

   1 2   

   1 2