WASHINGTON — Gen David Petraeus, commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, said Monday the U.S. military is meeting its objectives in Iraq and troops can be reduced to pre-surge levels of about 130,000 by next summer.
"The military objectives of the surge are, in large measure, being met," he said at a joint hearing of the House Armed Services and Foreign Affairs committees.
Petraeus, battling repeated interruptions by anti-war protestors, rejected Democratic claims that President George W Bush's war plan was a failure, in the most eagerly awaited congressional hearing in years.
Using graphs and colored charts, the general, accompanied by U.S. ambassador to Baghdad Ryan Crocker, warned "a premature drawdown of our forces would likely have devastating consequences."
The rare joint hearing of the House Armed Services and Foreign Relations committees opened a landmark week for U.S. Iraq policy in a four-year war which has killed more than 3,700 US troops and tens of thousands of civilians.
Democrats launched an outspoken assault on Petraeus's claims, and argued that the surge of 28,500 U.S. troops had failed in its prime goal of driving political reconciliation in Iraq.
Petraeus recommended the withdrawal of 4,000 troops in Iraq by December, with troop numbers gradually reaching pre-surge levels of around 130,000 soldiers by mid next year.
But angering Democrats, he said further decisions on troop numbers could not be made until next March at the earliest.
"In my professional judgment, it would be premature to make recommendations on the pace of such reductions at this time," Petraeus said.
He said civilian deaths had "declined significantly", as have attacks using improvised explosive devices, or roadside bombs; car bombings and suicide attacks.
A U.S. official auditor last week however questioned the way the military had calculated the statistics on sectarian violence.
Petraeus also warned that Iran was using its special forces to fight a "proxy war against the Iraqi state and coalition forces in Iraq."
Crocker added that "Iran would be a winner" if the U.S. abandoned Iraq, and argued that a a "secure, stable, democratic Iraq at peace with its neighbors is, in my view, attainable."
"The trajectory of political, economic, and diplomat developments in Iraq is upwards, although the slope of that line is not steep," he said.
The general also hailed the decision by Sunni tribes in Anbar province to join the fight against al-Qaida as "the most significant development in the past six months."
Police, swamping the hearing with a heavy presence, threw nine anti-war protestors, some from the "Code Pink" organization, out of the hearing after repeated interruptions.
One woman screamed "No, No, No, No," as she was dragged out.
Armed Services Committee chairman Ike Skelton said Petraeus, who entered the room to an explosion of flash-bulbs and cries from protestors of "Tell the truth, General," was the right man for the job in Iraq.
"But he's the right person three years too late and 250,000 troops short," Skelton said.
As political tensions hit boiling point, Foreign Affairs committee chairman Tom Lantos told Petraeus he didn't "buy" claims that victory was at hand.
"The current escalation in our military presence in Iraq may have produced some tactical successes. But strategically, the escalation has failed," he said accusing Iraqi leaders of squandering an opportunity for political reform.
"We need to get out of Iraq, for that country's sake and for our own. It is time to go — and to go now."
Pent-up political fury over the war spilled over even before Petraeus and Crocker appeared, with Republicans accusing Democrats of embracing "character assassination" tactics designed to discredit the General's testimony.
The flare-up was sparked by a full-page advertisement in The New York Times placed by anti-war liberal campaign group MoveOn.org, reading "General Petraeus or General Betray US? Cooking the Books for the White House."
White House spokesman Tony Snow called the ad "boorish and childish." He also said the Crocker and Petraeus's testimony had not been shaped by the White House.
The general and ambassador were also due to appear before the Senate Foreign Relations and Armed Services committees on Tuesday.
Bush, bound by law to provide a report on the progress of the war by Saturday, was expected to make a televised address to the American people later in the week.
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