But a senior military official involved in Iraq troop level discussions said Petraeus has expressed increasing concern about withdrawals by U.S. allies. The unexpected departure of 2,000 Georgian troops, which came as Poland and Britain also announced significant drawdowns, have complicated plans for further U.S. withdrawals, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity when discussing internal Pentagon debates.
The official said Petraeus also is worried about the stability of a cease-fire called by the Mahdi Army, the Shiite militia loyal to radical cleric Muqtada Sadr, who in recent weeks has been harshly critical of the Iraqi government's dealings with the U.S. over troop levels.
In a sign of improving conditions, Pentagon officials had been considering redirecting the next Army unit scheduled to depart for Iraq -- the 2nd Brigade of the 4th Infantry Division -- to Afghanistan.
But because of the changing circumstances, that unit is expected to go to Iraq as planned, the military official said. The next unit in line for Iraq duty -- the 3rd Brigade of the 10th Mountain Division -- may instead be redirected to Afghanistan. The shifting deployments are likely to delay any significant reduction in the level of Army units in Iraq until next year.
Pentagon officials for months have tried to find additional troops to send to Afghanistan. Dealing with strains and shortages, military planners have identified only a few hundred, whereas Afghan commanders have requested about 10,000 more.
Conway, who traveled to Iraq last week, said the upcoming transfer of Anbar province to Iraqi government control supports his assessment that the region no longer requires a large number of Marines. Mowaffak Rubaie, the Iraqi national security advisor, said the transfer is scheduled for Monday.
"There aren't a whole heck of a lot of bad guys there left to fight," Conway said, adding that attacks had fallen to a low of two or three a day. "Our vehicles seemed to go largely unnoticed."
Still, tensions remain, particularly between rival Sunni Muslim factions. The provincial government is made up mostly of members of the Iraqi Islamic Party, a Sunni political group that holds 36 of the provincial council's 41 seats. But the party has seen relations with tribal chieftains and former insurgent fighters, now part of patrols known as the Sons of Iraq, grow increasingly tense.
