Paraphrased from an article in the Associated Press printed in the Arkansas Democrat Gazette, Nov. 18, 2006:
General John Abizaid, the top U.S. commander in the Middle East, warned the Senate Armed Services Committee against setting a timetable for withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq, rejecting the arguments of Democrats who are pressing President Bush to start pulling out.
Abizaid also urged quick action to strengthen Iraq's government, predicting that vicious sectarian violence in Baghdad would surge out of control within four to six months unless such action was taken.
"Our troop posture needs to stay where it is" and the use of military adviser teams embedded with Iraqi army and police forces needs to be expanded.
While Democrats are pressing to begin removing American troops in the next few months, and even some Republicans have been openly critical of the war, Abizaid said it was too soon to give up on the Iraqis or to announce a timetable for starting a U.S. troop withdrawal.
"Hope is not a strategy," said Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton. She said she saw no evidence that the Iraqi government was ready to make hard decisions, including disarming or neutralizing sectarian militias.
Asked what would happen in regards to sectarian violence if the U.S. began a troop withdrawal in four to six months, Abizaid said, "I believe it would increase." It would also undermine U.S. efforts to increase Iraqis'
confidence that their own government is capable of assuring their security, he suggested.
When pressed by Sen. Jack Reed about how much time the U.S. and Iraqi governments have to reduce the violence in Baghdad before it spirals out of control, Abizaid said, "Four to six months."
Sen. John McCain, challenged Abaizaid's analysis, stating; "I'm of course disappointed that basically you're advocating the status quo here today, which I think the American people in the last election said that is not an acceptable condition."
Abizaid countered that he was not arguing for the status quo. What was needed now, he stated, was to place more U.S. troops inside the Iraqi army and police units to train and advise them. Having visited Iraq as recently as this week, he remained optimistic that the Iraqis were capable of overcoming sharp internal differences and creating conditions for stability.
"It's certainly not as bad as the situation appeared back in August." He noted that he saw growing confidence by the Iraqis in their government, although sect-on-sect violence was still at unacceptably high levels.
Abizaid also stated that adding large numbers of U.S. troops in Iraq was not an option over the long run.
"We can put in 20,000 more Americans tomorrow and achieve a temporary effect," Abizaid said. "But when you look at the overall American force pool that's available out there, the ability to sustain that commitment is simply not something that we have right now with the size of the Army and the Marine Corps."
Sen. Carl Leven, the next chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee said the administration must tell Iraq that U.S. troops will begin leaving in the next half-year.
"We cannot save the Iraqis from themselves. The only way for Iraqi leaders to squarely face that reality is for President Bush to tell them that the United States will begin a phased redeployment of our forces within four to six months."
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