WASHINGTON — The top U.S. ground commander in Iraq warned Thursday that September may be too soon to tell whether the American troop buildup in Baghdad has worked, casting doubt on a crucial milestone set by Congress to reassess Iraq war strategy.
With the last units of the U.S. combat troop buildup reaching Baghdad this month, the U.S. strategy will have been in full effect for about 60 days by September, said Army Lt. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, commander of day-to-day military operations in Iraq.
The buildup, ordered by President Bush in January, eventually will consist of 28,500 combat and support troops.
Congress has mandated that military commanders measure results of the U.S. strategy by September. Odierno said he would deliver his evaluation to Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top American general in Iraq, late this summer. But Odierno said repeatedly in a briefing that he was likely to report that he needed more time.
"The assessment might be [that] I need a little more time; the assessment might be I've seen enough and it's effective; or I've seen enough and it's not going to be effective," Odierno said. "Right now if you asked me, I would tell you I'd probably need a little bit more time to do a true assessment."
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, speaking to reporters in Honolulu, said he expected Odierno to deliver an honest evaluation and would not mind a request for more time. But Gates added that political realities in Washington might dictate a different timetable than the generals might like.
"It's those of us in Washington that have to take into account the Washington clock when we receive the report from Gen. Petraeus and Gen. Odierno," Gates said.
Republicans in Congress have begun conditioning their support for Bush's Iraq strategy on progress by September. House and Senate GOP leaders have said that they expect new strategies unless security improves.
Bush said last week that he would consider a new military configuration. He met with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani at the White House on Thursday and pledged new efforts to help the Iraqi government try to reach key political benchmarks.
Odierno would not estimate how much more time he might need for a full assessment. Under the new counterinsurgency strategy, units need 30 to 60 days to become effective, he said. Only some time after that period can the strategy be evaluated, he said.
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Frankness encouraged
