Iraq commander expects further troop cuts

By Andrew Gray

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Army Gen. David Petraeus, the top commander in Iraq, said on Thursday he expected to make further troop cuts after a 45-day freeze in withdrawals that begins in July.

Petraeus also told senators considering his nomination to the U.S. military's top Middle East post that Iran was a destabilizing influence in the region. But he backed U.S. efforts to use diplomatic and economic pressure on Tehran, saying military action was a last resort.

Petraeus also endorsed U.S. intelligence estimates that al Qaeda leaders are based in tribal areas of Pakistan and any future attack on the United States was likely to originate there. He pledged more help for Pakistan's government.

Following a tour in Iraq marked by a steep decline in violence, Petraeus is slated to take over U.S. Central Command, responsible for military operations in an unstable swath of the world including the Middle East, Central Asia and East Africa. He has been in his current post since February 2007.

Petraeus is overseeing a reduction in U.S. forces in Iraq to leave around 140,000 troops there by mid-July. He said he expected to recommend resuming withdrawals after taking stock until around the beginning of September.

"My sense is that I will be able to make a recommendation at that time for some further reductions," he said, although he could not predict the size of any further troop cut.

The United States has some 155,000 troops in Iraq, more than five years after the start of a war which is now broadly unpopular with the U.S. public and is likely to be a key issue in the presidential and congressional elections this November.

BUSH DEFENDS WAR

At the U.S. Army's Fort Bragg base in North Carolina, President George W. Bush defended his decision to invade Iraq.

"The terrorists and extremists are on the run and we are on our way to victory," he said.

Also on Thursday, the U.S. Senate passed an additional $165 billion in spending for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. That would take the total spent on the conflicts to more than $800 billion, most of it for Iraq.

Petraeus appeared in the Senate with his former No. 2, Army Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno, who has been nominated to replace him in Baghdad.

Petraeus told senators that last week saw the lowest number of security incidents in Iraq in more than four years and this week's figure looked likely to be lower still.

Despite the advances, Petraeus and Odierno reported some key political and security goals were slipping.

Provincial elections were more likely in November than the scheduled date of October 1 and a target of handing the remaining nine provinces controlled by U.S. forces to Iraqi authorities by the end of the year would not be met, they said.