Report to Congress on the Situation in Iraq
Abstract
This report presents the testimony of General David H. Petraeus, Commander of the Multi-National Force-Iraq, to Congress on 10-11 September 2007. General Petraeus begins by stating that the military objectives of the surge are, in large measure, being met. In recent months Coalition and Iraqi Security Forces have achieved progress in the security arena. Though the improvements have been uneven across Iraq, the overall number of security incidents has declined in 8 of the past 12 weeks, with the number of incidents in the last two weeks at the lowest level seen since June 2006. One reason for the decline in incidents is that Coalition and Iraqi forces have dealt significant blows to Al Qaeda-Iraq by taking away a number of their sanctuaries and gaining the initiative in many areas. They also have disrupted Shia militia extremists, capturing the head and numerous other leaders of the Iranian-supported Special Groups. Coalition and Iraqi operations also have helped reduce ethno-sectarian violence, bringing down the number of ethno-sectarian deaths substantially in Baghdad and across Iraq since December 2006. The number of overall civilian deaths also has declined during this period, and Iraqi Security Forces have continued to grow and to shoulder more of the load, albeit slowly and amid continuing concerns about the sectarian tendencies of some elements in their ranks. In what may be the most significant development of the past 8 months, the tribal rejection of Al Qaeda that started in Anbar Province and helped produce such significant change there has now spread to a number of other locations as well. In this security assessment, General Petraeus reviews the nature of the conflict in Iraq, recalls the situation before the surge, describes the current situation, and explains the recommendations that he has provided to his chain of command for the way ahead in Iraq. Fourteen briefing charts accompany the testimony.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 11, 2007
- Accession Number
- ADA473579
Entities
People
- David H. Petraeus
Organizations
- Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs