Beginning in December, Petraeus proposes to withdraw one brigade every 45 days.
Even though Petraeus said the buildup had had positive results, he and Ryan Crocker, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, told lawmakers that the country's political climate was frustrating and that "success" would require a great deal of time.
Under Petraeus' plan, the military would decide in March when to implement further cuts in the U.S. force, to 10 to 12 brigades. Such a cut would bring U.S. forces down to about 100,000 troops, a level favored by the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Under questioning, Petraeus said the Joint Chiefs had supported his recommendations for drawing down the buildup forces.
The March deadline is bound to rekindle debate over the timing of troop reductions. Democrats have charged that the Bush administration has been delaying key decisions to buy time.
Petraeus said: "I do not believe it is reasonable to have an adequate appreciation for the pace of further reductions and mission adjustments beyond the summer of 2008 until about mid-March of next year."
Redefining goals
In another new feature of U.S. strategy, Petraeus outlined a rough shift in the U.S. mission in Iraq over time. U.S. forces now are "in the lead" in combat operations. Eventually, Petraeus hopes to move them into a position of "overwatch" -- U.S. supervision of Iraqi tactics, operations and strategies -- as opposed to combat.
Petraeus suggested that the United States would continue its current counterinsurgency strategy for some time, but that Iraqi security forces would gradually take more responsibility for leading the operations.
Petraeus displayed a chart indicating a series of possible troop reductions in coming years.
The chart showed that as U.S. combat forces were reduced, the mission would begin to shift from U.S.-led counterinsurgency operations to emphasis on partnering with Iraqis. Eventually, the U.S. would be solely focused on watching over Iraqi forces and leaders.
Rep. Vic Snyder (D-Ark.) asked Petraeus about the troop cuts implied by the graphic and how long that smaller force, of perhaps 50,000 troops, might remain in Iraq. Petraeus said he did not know how long the force would remain, nor when the next cuts would be made.
"There is every intention and recognition that forces will continued to be reduced after the mid-July time frame," Petraeus said.
