The top US general and diplomat in Iraq were to testify in politically charged hearings in Congress yesterday and were to face a grilling from three senators vying to inherit the war as the next US president.
General David Petraeus and Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker will appear before the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations committees to update progress in the war and US President George W. Bush’s troop surge strategy.
Their keenly awaited testimony will be especially intriguing as the next US president, Republican Senator John McCain or Democratic senators Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton, are heavy-hitting members of the two Senate committees.
PHOTO: AP
The hearings are the latest fierce political tussle over Iraq policy, which has seen anti-war Democrats repeatedly try and fail to force Bush to bring US troops home from the war.
Republicans say the surge of 30,000 extra troops into Iraq last year cut sectarian violence and stabilized the country and they approve of Petraeus’ calls to pause troop withdrawals at pre-surge levels to evaluate the situation.
“If our nation abandoned efforts to stabilize Iraq, not only would terrorism follow our troops home, but it would lead to chaos in the Middle East that would wreak havoc on our national and economic security as well,” Representative John Boehner, the top Republican in the House of Representatives, said on Monday.
Democrats praise US troops, but argue their sacrifice has not prompted serious efforts by the Iraqi government to profit from improved conditions to forge political reconciliation.
Hours before the hearings were to start, a draft agreement between the US and Iraq surfaced in London, by which the two countries foresee an open-ended US military commitment in Iraq.
The document is designed to replace the current UN mandate, which expires at yearend, said the Guardian newspaper, which cited a copy of a draft strategic framework agreement dated March 7.
The Guardian said the agreement allows the US to “conduct military operations in Iraq and to detain individuals when necessary for imperative reasons of security” without including a time limit.
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