BAGHDAD — The day-to-day commander of the U.S. military in Iraq said Tuesday that American forces would be needed in the country for a few more years in order to stave off chaos.
"We think that based on the campaign plan that we need forces here for a few more years," Lt. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno told The Times during a tour of a U.S. Army base in Babil province south of the capital.
"We need to have forces here in a deliberate fashion in order to accomplish what our goals are, which are a stable Iraq able to operate in a regional construct that will not provide a safe haven for terror and we will move forward with a government that cares for the people of Iraq," he said.
Odierno's comments were the most blunt in a series of recent statements from U.S. Embassy and military officials that aim to persuade Congress to support a U.S. military presence in Iraq. He emphasized that troop numbers probably would be reduced gradually.
The senior U.S. commander in Iraq, Gen. David H. Petraeus, and Ambassador Ryan Crocker are scheduled Sept. 15 to present a report to Congress about progress made in Iraq since the Bush administration's troop buildup plan began in February.
Embassy and military officials have downplayed the failure of Iraqi politicians to enact laws aimed at defusing tensions and sectarian violence. Instead, they pointed to what they term successes on the ground, including securing the cooperation of Sunni Arab tribes that had participated in the insurgency.
On Saturday, Petraeus told The Times:
"We are very likely to have some recommendations on the way ahead. I am reluctant to try and put down timelines. I will come in with recommendations at some point that do lay out certain force structures over time, missions over time based on certain assumptions about continued progress."
President Bush has said he expects U.S. forces to still be in Iraq when his term ends in 2009. But Odierno's is the first open declaration of its kind by a top commander that the Americans plan to stay a few more years.
The Pentagon had confirmed the existence of a plan to secure Iraq by the end of 2009, but described the blueprint as dependent on conditions there, and did not specify that U.S. troops would be required for the entire period.
The situation in Iraq remains complicated. Questions concerning the effectiveness of the troop buildup are difficult to answer.
