Petraeus to Pitch Troop Reduction Plan

Preparing for his September check-in with Congress about the status and future directions of the Iraq war, Gen. David Petraeus hinted Wednesday at plans to gradually downsize the U.S. military presence in Iraq by next summer.

AP via Breitbart.com:

But he cautioned against a quick or significant U.S. withdrawal that could surrender “the gains we have fought so hard to achieve.”

Gen. David Petraeus said the “horrific and indiscriminate attacks” that killed at least 250 Yazidis, an ancient religious sect, in northwestern Iraq Tuesday night were the work of al-Qaida in Iraq. That would bolster his argument, he said, against too quickly drawing down the 30,000 additional U.S. troops deployed in the first half of the year.

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