Feb 10, 2008 10:30 am US/Eastern
Gates Visits Iraq, Says Gains Are Being Made
BAGHDAD (AP) ―
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Iraq's political leaders are showing promising new signs of progress toward reconciliation, yet still face difficult decisions on how to stabilize the country, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Sunday. (File)
AP
Iraq's political leaders are showing promising new signs of progress toward reconciliation, yet still face difficult decisions on how to stabilize the country, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Sunday.
"They seem to have become energized over the last few weeks," Gates told reporters who traveled with him from an international security conference in Germany. The Pentagon chief added that he wants to "see what the prospects are for further success in the next couple of months."
After arriving in the capital, Gates went directly into a private dinner with Iraq's political leaders, including Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, and the top U.S. commander in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus, as well as U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker.
Before his latest visit to Iraq, Gates said in a speech in Munich that NATO's survival was at stake in the debate over how the United States and Europe should share the burden of fighting Islamic extremism in Afghanistan.
As Gates cited signs of political progress, the U.S. military said Sunday a diary and another document seized during U.S. raids show some al Qaeda in Iraq leaders fear the terrorist group is crumbling, with many fighters defecting to American-backed neighborhood groups.
President Bush, in an interview broadcast Sunday in the United States, discussed the long-term U.S. relationship with Iraq. "We will be there at the invitation of the Iraqi government. ... We won't have permanent bases. I do believe it is in our interests and the interests of the Iraqi people that we do enter into an agreement on how we are going to conduct ourselves over the next years."
Last year, Bush ordered five additional Army brigades to Iraq. One of those brigades left in December and the other four are due to come out by July, leaving 15 brigades, or about 130,000 to 135,000 troops-the same number as before Bush sent the reinforcements.
Petraeus recently said it would be prudent to "let things settle a bit" before embarking on a new round of cuts. Gates has not said whether he agreed with Petraeus, though the secretary noted other commanders and service chiefs would weigh in.
Bush, who met with Petraeus during his recent trip to the Middle East, said in the broadcast interview, "My message to the general was success is paramount and therefore, whatever you recommend, make it based upon the need to succeed."
"So we said, 'What is succeed? What does succeed mean? It means there's enough security and stability for this reconciliation to continue to take place and for democracy to take hold," Bush said.
The president said he did not know what Petraeus or the Pentagon would recommend soon on troop levels. "I will listen-give them careful consideration and make up my mind. But it's going to be based upon whether or not we can succeed or not."
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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