General says Iraq strategy must succeed
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The new U.S. military commander in Iraq said on Saturday that American and Iraqi security forces had to stabilize the country in what he called a high-stakes battle, or it would be doomed to more violence.
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Gen. David H. Petraeus declared that American troopsâ mission in Iraq is hard but not hopeless.
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The outgoing secretary of defense said American troops should stay in Iraq until the insurgents were defeated.
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WASHINGTON -- Conditions in Iraq will not improve sufficiently by September to justify a drawdown of US military forces, the top American commander in Iraq said yesterday.
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Defense officials are not ruling out the possibility that they will need more U.S. troops to secure January's elections in increasingly violent Iraq, but believe Iraqi and perhaps international troops may be able to do the job instead, a top general said Wednesday.
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The commander of U.S. forces in Iraq today disputed charges that the policy he has helped to implement has failed, and he insisted that the war is "winnable" if the United States shows patience and will.
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Some of the military's finest minds helped craft the strategy that has produced some signs of good news out of Iraq. But even they don't know if it will work.
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Iraqi security forces will need years of mentoring and support from U.S. forces, a senior U.S. commander said on Friday, warning against an American withdrawal before local forces can operate independently.
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The new U.S. military commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, said on Saturday Iraq was doomed to continuing violence if a crackdown on sectarian strife now under way in Baghdad failed.
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A top U.S. commander told Iraqâs premier to make political progress by next month to counter the growing tide of opposition to the war in Congress.
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Commanders say success in Iraq may depend on units like Strike Force Two, and the raids they launch almost nightly.
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The U.S. strategy in Iraq, Marine Col. T.X. Hammes observed in a recent interview, is a three-step process. "Clear out the insurgents, build up the Iraqi security forces, and then develop and install local governments in preparation for national elections," said Hammes.
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HILLA, Iraq  - The top U.S. military commander in Iraq on Thursday promised the truth from a progress report on the country that he will deliver to Washington in September.
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The U.S. military is unlikely to reduce forces in Iraq before next spring because the current contingent of more than 140,000 troops is battling sectarian violence that could prove "fatal" to the country if not arrested, the top American commander in the Middle East said yesterday.
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Pursuing the insurgents is hard enough. But Iraq's top general has to walk a difficult line of battling militias without alienating their political leaders
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Cuts in U.S. troop levels in Iraq will not derail recent security gains, but the Iraqi government must move quicker to take advantage of the falls in violence, a senior U.S. general said on Sunday.
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Iraq will need time to build up forces sufficient to handle a potential threat from its neighbors &#151; specifically Iran &#151; even after Baghdad proves capable of overcoming the insurgency at home, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Sunday.