GEN. David Petraeus evokes the late Warren Zevon’s line, “I’ll sleep when I’m dead”: His idea of downtime on Christmas Day was to answer a series of questions from The Post – after spending 11 hours out visiting our troops.
Relentless in his pursuit of our enemies and tireless in his pursuit of enduring results for Iraq, Petraeus is on track to become America’s most successful four-star general since 1945.
Question: As a remarkable year draws to a close, what’s your assessment of Iraq today?
A: “Our troopers and our Iraqi partners have wrested control of many of the sanctuaries from al Qaeda in Iraq and disrupted extremist networks throughout the country. Since the ‘surge of offensives’ began in June, attacks and civilian deaths have decreased by 60 percent.
“Our own losses have fallen substantially, as well – although each loss is a tough reminder of the cost of what’s been achieved.
“Meanwhile, the Iraqi security forces are making an increasing impact on the battlefield. In the last year, they’ve not only added over 100,000 new soldiers and police, they’ve also gained in capability. The Iraqis now have well over 100 combat battalions solidly in the fight – sustaining losses at a rate two to three times our own.
“In 2008, the Iraqis will add some 30 additional battalions to help compensate for our reduction of about one-quarter of our own combat forces by the end of July.
“In some areas of Iraq today, the atmosphere resembles the spring of 2003, with many communities feeling ‘liberated’ once again – this time from al Qaeda and other extremist elements.
“That said, we should all be clear that what has been achieved could be reversed – the progress in many areas remains tenuous and the campaign to establish sustainable security is far from over. Al Qaeda, associated insurgent groups and militia extremists remain lethal. Nobody here is doing victory dances in the end zone.”
Q: As the military situation improves, how are our tactics and strategy evolving?
A: “In the year ahead, we’ll continue to focus on security for the population, living with those we seek to protect. You can’t commute to this fight.
“Over time in the new year, we’ll continue to thin our ranks as Iraqi forces take on more tasks. In many provinces, Iraqis already are completely in charge; in some areas, in fact, there are no coalition forces at all.
“The past year also underscored the importance of keeping the pressure on al Qaeda and the other extremists. We’ll seek to sustain that this year to prevent them from reconstituting and recovering from their losses.
“We and our Iraqi partners will also continue to look beyond the security realm to help the Iraqis improve basic services, revitalize local markets, repair damaged infrastructure and create conditions that allow displaced families to return to their homes. Local stakeholders are the best insurance against the return of extremists.”
Q: What’s the most encouraging development you’ve seen?
A: “The rapid growth of the Sunni Arab community’s rejection of al Qaeda in Iraq. Isolating extremists isn’t just a military act, but also a political one. Thus, it’s been particularly significant to see Sunnis turn against al Qaeda’s extremist ideology and indiscriminate violence.
“The rejection of al Qaeda – and militia extremists – has also led to the rise of concerned local citizen groups. Now more than 75,000 strong and comprised of both Sunni and Shia volunteers, these groups help secure their communities, provide intelligence on the enemy and report improvised explosive devices and weapons caches. They have saved the lives of countless Iraqi civilians and Iraqi and Coalition soldiers.”
Q: What about southern Iraq? Frankly, there appears to be a power vacuum as our British allies withdraw.
A: “Southern Iraq faces considerable challenges, as recent attacks in Amarah and the assassination of a truly heroic police chief in Hillah illustrate. But the Iraqi government has made progress recently in important cities, such as Karbala, Najaf, Nasariyah and others, where they’ve taken the lead in establishing security.
“They’ve also developed a reasonable way ahead for securing Basra. Clearly, there are militia, criminals and political issues with which provincial and national leaders must contend there and elsewhere in the South, but we believe Iraqi leaders can deal with them.
“Southern Iraq has also benefited from the militia cease-fire ordered by Moqtada al-Sadr and the Sadrists’ censure of those not following his pledge of honor. Nonetheless, it remains to be seen whether the agreements between the major Shia parties will lead to a sustained reduction in intra-Shia violence.”
Q: The al-Maliki government still appears weak, partisan and reluctant to capitalize on the security advances in the Sunni-Arab portion of Iraq.
A: “Iraqi leaders all agree that political progress in Iraq has been insufficient; nonetheless, there have been some steps forward in the past couple of months. While progress on the so-called benchmark legislation has been slow, actions that will flow from those laws are already being taken.
“Particularly noteworthy is the distribution of oil revenues: generally in the way envisioned by the oil-revenue-sharing law – in the absence of agreement on that law.
“We should remember that Iraq’s political system is still in its early stages of development. Its leaders are trying both to establish a government in the midst of what is still considerable violence and trying to resolve truly fundamental issues.”
Q: What about Iraq’s neighbors? Syria? Iran? Turkey?
A: “Syria and the foreign-fighter-source countries have taken steps to reduce the flow of foreign replacements into Iraq to less than half of what it was at its peak. That said, there is certainly more that can be done by Syria and others, and the Iraqis are beginning to work jointly with them to that end.
“We’re also hopeful that Iran will fulfill its leaders’ promises to their Iraqi counterparts to stop supporting extremist groups within Iraq. This is something that will be addressed in the next round of tripartite talks the US undertakes with Iraq and Iran.
“Currently, there are some signs that Iran may be urging restraint by elements it has supported; however, it’s also clear that Iran continues to train and fund the so-called ‘Special Groups’ that assassinate Iraqi officials, kidnap leaders and attack our soldiers and Iraqi forces.
“Turkey, meanwhile, has developed important trading and commercial relationships with Iraq’s northern provinces, but has had to take action against the PKK terrorists in the mountains straddling the border with Iraq. We’re now hopeful that there’s room for political dialogue on that problem, in addition to the ‘kinetic’ activities of recent weeks.”
Q: Any seasonal message for the American people?
A: “Our nation’s men and women in uniform must rank with the finest Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines in our country’s history. And it has been wonderful to see how those at home support our troops in harm’s way and their families. I can imagine no greater privilege than serving with the new ‘Greatest Generation’ here in Iraq.”