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BRIANNA
KEILAR: The top U.S. commander in Iraq is in
Washington reporting to Congress and President Bush
on progress in the war. And you see here our Michael
Ware interviewing General Petraeus.
Here is his answer to Michael's question: after hours
of testimony, what has been accomplished?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GEN. DAVID PETRAEUS, CMDR., MULTINATL. FORCE-IRAQ:
Well, what the Ambassador and I sought to do was to
provide the latest information, provide a forthright
assessment, to describe the situation that we saw and
to explain the recommendations that we have made to
our chain of command.
I think it was a good opportunity for a lot of back
and forth. And, again, we think that that -- we hope
that that was useful for them and I'll tell you,
obviously, we got certain messages from them as well,
as you would imagine.
MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Do you think it hit
home?
PETRAEUS: And I think that some of those messages
will be heard in Baghdad as well and perhaps in some
other capitals.
WARE: And say for example, issues like timetables. We
heard that raised perhaps less than one would have
expected. Do you think that's a part of you getting
your message across?
PETRAEUS: Well, one doesn't know, obviously. Again,
we -- we do believe that, again, there have been
gains as we described, they're fragile, they're
reversible. And we certainly don't want to unduly
jeopardize those.
We think, therefore, that having done the substantial
reduction that will be complete by July 5 of 20
brigade combat teams, marine expeditionary unit, two
marine battalions, really the equivalent of another
brigade, it does make sense to let the dust settle,
certainly continue in assessments during that
timeframe so that we can then make judgments about
when we can make additional reductions or
recommendations on additional reductions.
You know, I mean, we are keenly aware, as I stated a
number of times on Capitol Hill, of the strain on the
force, on our troopers and their families on the
strategic flexibility, or lack thereof, the cost, all
of these different pressures. But of course, our job
is to try to accomplish the mission we've been given
in Iraq and, of course, that's what is the basis of
our recommendations.
WARE: And being perfectly frank with the view that we
both share from the ground, I mean, this war is far
from over, isn't it?
PETRAEUS: Well, it's tough. And I think that
Ambassador Crocker accurately used the word hard, he
used it repeatedly and I think it's a correct
description.
WARE: We're not coming home any time soon, are we?
PETRAEUS: It is very complex. I think we will be
engaged in Iraq. And again, that is the operative
word I think, engagement, rather than perhaps exit.
But engagement will continue for some time. The
question of course, is at what level, at what cost,
and in what form.
In other words, what tasks, how much -- when it comes
to the military, are we in the lead? How much are
they in the lead? Obviously, transitioning that as
actually has happened and is happening in a number of
areas even as we still in some cases have to take
that on ourselves.
WARE: And with ...
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KEILAR: You'll see more of Michael Ware's interview
with General Petraeus ahead in the NEWSROOM. You can
watch the entire interview tonight at 10:00 p.m. on
"AC 360."