Petraeus calls for cutting U.S. troops in Iraq

By Arshad Mohammed and Susan Cornwell

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The top U.S. general in Iraq on Monday recommended cutting American troops by about 30,000 by next summer, ending the so-called surge of forces but not fundamentally changing strategy in the unpopular war.

Gen. David Petraeus, facing Democratic lawmakers and many voters demanding a quick end to the U.S. engagement in Iraq, suggested the force could fall to about 130,000 by August without jeopardizing modest recent security improvements.

That would return the U.S. troop strength to roughly the same level it was before an increase ordered by President George W. Bush between February and June.

Petraeus said it was not yet possible to predict when the number could go lower.

Petraeus appeared at a congressional hearing seen as a crucial moment in the U.S. debate over the war, which Bush has vowed to pursue but which many Democrats, who control Congress, say must end.

Analysts said Petraeus's recommendation to bring some troops home by Christmas and more in 2008 could provide political cover for Republicans and dissuade them from abandoning Bush while blunting Democratic calls for more dramatic withdrawals.

Both the general and U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker said they saw some progress in Iraq and defended Bush's decision to boost the troop strength in a war that is now in its fifth year and has killed more than 3,700 U.S. troops and tens of thousands of Iraqis.

"I believe we will be able to reduce our forces to pre-surge level by next summer without jeopardizing the security gains," Petraeus said at a joint hearing of the House Armed Services and Foreign Affairs Committees.

"The military objectives of the surge are in large measure being met," Petraeus added during a hearing that was repeatedly interrupted by protesters shouting "war criminals" and other anti-war slogans.

Petraeus said the number of "security incidents" had dropped in eight of the past 12 weeks and the overall number of civilian deaths from the conflict had fallen by 45 percent since December.

Statistics from other sources suggest a less steep decline and data obtained from Iraqi ministries show 1,773 civilians died in Iraq in August, a rise of nearly 8 percent over February.

Although violence has ebbed in some parts of the country, it continues to rage in others. A suicide truck bomb killed 10 people and wounded 60 in northern Iraq while a car bomb killed two people and wounded six in central Baghdad, police said.

Seven American soldiers were killed in a vehicle accident in Baghdad on Monday and another died from wounds received in a rocket attack on Sunday in northern Kirkuk province, the

military said, bringing U.S. military fatalities to 3,769.

Petraeus said he had proposed that a unit of about 2,200 Marines should leave Iraq this month as previously planned.