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Michael intros a clip from his interview with General Petraeus, concerning Iranian influence in Iraq.
FREDRICKA
WHITFIELD: Five years plus of fighting, but the war
in Iraq is not endless. Those words today from
President Bush speaking from the White House, where
he also said there will be an indefinite halt in
troop withdrawals after July.
CNN Baghdad correspondent Michael Ware joins us now
from Washington. He spoke today at length with the
top U.S. commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus.
Good to see you, Michael.
MICHAEL WARE, CNN BAGHDAD CORRESPONDENT: Thanks,
Fredricka.
Well, the president may say that the war is not
endless, but I can certainly tell you, especially
after speaking to the commander of that war, General
David Petraeus, that the conflict still has a long
way to go. General Petraeus, back in his two days of
testimony here before Congress in Washington D.C.,
went to some pains to point out some of the grim
realities of the war that remains.
We discussed the nature of his testimony and how that
may have been perceived. The nature of Iraqi
reconciliation and what that in fact may truly amount
to or not. And we also discussed the nature of Iraqi
politics, and that militias may just be a fact of
life that America has to live with.
But we also talked about the threats to America in
this war. And while he acknowledged al Qaeda remained
one of them, they are but one of many. And indeed he
made it very clear that the larger dynamic of this
war is increasingly becoming Iran, and it's clear
that Iran has dug in a lot deeper in Iraq than
perhaps many here in America would think.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WARE: You touched on the issue of Iran. Let's have a
quick look at that, then. Is the threat of Iran
overblown?
GEN. DAVID PETRAEUS, CMDR., MULTI.NATL. FORCES-IRAQ:
Well, it's a very significant one. Again, it depends
on what perspective one approaches this. But clearly,
Iran's level of involvement, and in many respects,
malign involvement, is of genuine concern by all
Iraqi leaders.
One minister I think put it very precisely during the
visit with President Ahmadinejad, and fairly
courageously, I guess. He said, "we welcome Iranian
religious tourists--" which they very much do, it has
spurred the development of course of the holy cities
of Najaf and Karbala enormously, a lot of money
brought in with that -- "We welcome their goods and
services. We welcome their investment money. We don't
welcome their bombs." And that does capture it.
And I think the have seen their bombs, their rockets,
their mortars, their EFPs, explosively formed
penetrators, projectiles in recent weeks in a way
that they had not been so clear to them before. And,
again, Iran is going to have to come to grips with
its conflictions, between wanting to wish us ill and
not wanting the first Shia-led Arab country fail.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WARE: And well beyond bombs and mortars that are
flying from Iran into Iraq to attack U.S. soldiers,
the general also made it clear that the so-called
ally or partner of America, the Iraqi government, is
indeed made up of political parties, factions, and
paramilitaries all of whom are linked to Iran. Some
of them with long-standing associations with Tehran.
Some of whom were actually created in Iran.
So, he made it clear that it's going to take an
extraordinarily comprehensive approach from America
to protect and further U.S. interests in this war --
Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: And, Michael, we've seen General Petraeus
time and again in Baghdad, while you're usually based
there as well. Your conversation with him this time,
did you feel like this was the same General Petraeus
that you've spoken with while in Baghdad, or is he
more forthright or more guarded in one place or the
other?
WARE: Well, obviously this is a higher supercharged
politicized environment. Indeed, on his first day of
testimony alone -- and let's remember, he was exposed
to well over a dozen hours of grilling by members of
Congress. But on that first day, he faced what is
going to be the next president of the United States,
one of the three candidates still in the running. So,
of course, he has to be careful, he has to be
measured.
But let's not make any bones about it, the general
was not pulling any punches either on the Hill or
today. He was making it very clear. Put it this way
-- I know for a fact that General Petraeus wishes he
had a happy story to tell. He wishes that he could be
letting America know that there was an end in sight
and that troops could start coming home in a
meaningful way.
But the fact is, he does not have that happy story to
tell. And he needs that to sink in, both on the Hill,
amongst the decision-makers, both within the
campaigns that are currently under way, and by and
large, among the American people. This war, as I
said, is far from over -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: Right, nobody knows how it's going to end
or if it's going to end. Michael Ware, thanks so much
for joining us from Washington. Well, expect to see
and hear more of that conversation with General
Petraeus throughout the day. And watch the full
interview tonight at 10:00 Eastern. That will be
during "ANDERSON COOPER 360."