American commander plans troop reductions

There are more than 160,000 U.S. troops in Iraq.

BAGHDAD (AP) — The top American commander in Iraq said Wednesday he was preparing recommendations on troop reductions before he returns to Washington next month for a report to Congress. He predicted the U.S. footprint in Iraq would have to be “a good bit smaller” by next summer.

But Gen. David Petraeus cautioned against a quick or significant U.S. withdrawal that could surrender “the gains we have fought so hard to achieve.”

He declined to offer specifics on upcoming recommendation. The report, expected next month, is seen as a potential roadmap for U.S. military and diplomatic policies in Iraq.

Petraeus also said the “horrific and indiscriminate attacks” that killed at least 250 Yazidis, an ancient religious sect, in northwestern Iraq on Tuesday were the work of al-Qaida in Iraq fighters. The suicide bombings occurred near the Syrian border, and U.S. officials charge the Damascus regime has not done enough to police the frontier against infiltration by foreign fighters who dominate al-Qaida.

The attacks, Petraeus added, bolstered his argument against moving too quickly to draw down the 30,000 additional U.S. troops deployed in the first half of the year. U.S. troop strength in Iraq is currently at an all-time high of more than 160,000.

The general wrote the Army’s book on counterinsurgency,.

One of most significant shifts for U.S. forces recently has been recruiting allies among former Sunni insurgents areas such as the western Anbar province.

“It’s all about the local people. When all the sudden the local people are on the side of the new Iraq instead of on the side of the insurgents or even al-Qaida, that’s a very significant change,” Petraeus said.