In Baghdad, Defense Secretary Gates points to risks of troop withdrawals
Robert Gates says the challenge for incoming commander Raymond Odierno will be to build on security success as the number of U.S. forces shrinks.
BAGHDAD -- Future troop cuts in Iraq will have to be done carefully, even as the shrinking numbers of forces compel a shift in the U.S. mission, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said.
Gates arrived in Baghdad today in advance of Tuesday's change of command ceremony, when Lt. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno is scheduled to takes over for Gen. David H. Petraeus as the top U.S. commander.
Last week, President Bush announced he would cut the size of the Iraq force by about 8,000 troops by the end of the administration. Some officers within the Pentagon had advocated swifter and deeper cuts in the size of the Iraq force, in order to free forces that could instead be sent to Afghanistan.
Although Bush administration officials have talked about the security gains in Iraq with a growing confidence that they will be long lasting, Gates said further withdrawals must be done in a way that does not put that success at risk.
Shortly after his arrival, two car bombs exploded minutes apart outside two government buildings in Baghdad's Karada district. Police said initial reports indicated at least 13 people were killed and 32 injured. The blasts occurred about 500 feet apart on the same street, where a court building and a passport office are located.
Gates, speaking Sunday aboard his plane en route to Iraq, praised Petraeus for his work in overhauling U.S. strategy in Iraq and said Odierno will have a difficult challenge of building on that success even as the number of U.S. forces in Iraq shrinks.
"The challenge for General Odierno," Gates said "is how do we work with the Iraqis to preserve the gains that have already been achieved and expand upon them, even as the numbers of U.S. forces are shrinking."
Under Odierno, Gates predicted, the U.S. will push more Iraqi units forward to take primary responsibility for security, allowing American forces to take an over watch role.
"There is no doubt we will remain seriously engaged as we are but the areas in which we remain seriously engaged will continue to narrow," he said.
Gates said Odierno, and other top military officers, will have to advise Congress and the next administration on further cuts.
"One of the major changes in the debate about Iraq is that it is primarily about pacing of the draw downs," Gates said. "And there should be deference to commanders in the field on that score."
