Profile of David Petraeus

Transcript of The Times interview

General David Petraeus, the US commander in Iraq, is drawing up plans to pull more troops out of the country after July on the back of a sharp drop in attacks and long-awaited progress on the political front.

The suggestions, which will depend upon conditions on the ground, are due to be presented as part of a new report on Iraq to George Bush, the US President, towards the end of next month, which will be put before Congress by early April.

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“We have been tasked to provide input to the Central Command, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the [Defence] Secretary and the President on the way ahead, obviously on recommendations with respect to further draw-downs beyond those that will be complete by July,” General Petraeus told The Times.

He was referring to a withdrawal of more than 20,000 troops (over one quarter of America’s combat forces in Iraq) that was announced following a previous report to Washington last September. They were deployed as part of a military surge to tackle escalating sectarian killings and other attacks in and around Baghdad.

Asked whether troop levels by the end of 2008 would be less than the force of some 130,000 that will be left following the current reduction, General Petraeus said: “Yes”, emphasising, however, that security conditions at the time would dictate the size and rate of the pullout to prevent gains from being compromised.

“We have a range, but that is not something I would be prepared to share with you at this point in time. We have a range based on various situations.”

He also dodged any question on the potential impact of the US Presidential elections on future plans. Democratic contenders Barrack Obama and Hillary Clinton support an early withdrawal unlike Republican frontrunner John McCain.

General Petraeus, who has won international recognition for his counter-insurgency tactics, said in the wide-ranging interview this week that al-Qaeda remained his biggest concern in Iraq.

He is also keeping a close eye on Iranian links to Shia militias, revealing that he was “puzzled” by a decision by Tehran to postpone four-times a meeting in Baghdad between US and Iranian officials to discuss security in Iraq.

As for Britain’s role in the south, General Petraeus said that he supported the timing of the handover of security in Basra to the Iraqi authorities last December despite ongoing violence in the city, and applauded an initiative by Gordon Brown to focus on development in the oil-rich province.

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