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No need for more Iraq troops: Petraeus

The US military commander in Iraq said yesterday that he saw no immediate need to request more US troops other than those already announced.

General David Petraeus, in his first news conference in Baghdad since taking command of US forces in Iraq last month, said he had discussed with his second in command whether he had enough troops for his current mission in Iraq.

"Right now we do not see other requests [for troops] looming out there. That's not to say that some emerging mission or emerging task will not require that and if it does then we will ask for that," Petraeus said.

Asked about reports that his second-in-command General Raymond Odierno had recommended the additional 21,500 troops to be sent to reinforce a security crackdown would need to stay in Iraq until early next year, Petraeus said he had made no decision yet on how long the extra troops would be needed.

Petraeus urged Iraqi leaders to put aside sectarian rancor and warned there was no "military solution" to the nation's conflict.

He said he had felt "shame, horror and sadness" on Tuesday when he heard of a suicide attack that killed more than 100 Shiite pilgrims.

"There is no military solution to a problem like that in Iraq. Military action is necessary to help improve security ... but it is not sufficient. There needs to be a political aspect," he said.

"A number of Americans ... have asked me whether Iraq's leaders and people can put the good of Iraq ahead of personal agendas and sectarian interests," the 54-year-old general told reporters.

"Putting Iraq above personal and sectarian agendas will be critical as Iraqi leaders and Iraqi people grapple with some very tough issues in the months ahead," he said.

US Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced at a Pentagon news conference in Washington on Wednesday that the Pentagon had approved a request by Petraeus for an extra 2,200 military police to help deal with an anticipated increase in detainees during the Baghdad security crackdown.

Gates also cited early indications that the Iraqi government was meeting the commitments it made to bolster security, cautioning, however, that it was too early to reach any firm conclusions about the outcome.

"We're right at the very beginning," he said. "But I would say that based in terms of whether the Iraqis are meeting the commitments that they've made to us in the security arena, I think that our view would be so far, so good."

He was referring to the movement of additional Iraqi troops into the capital.

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