Petraeus: Afghan war effort headed in right direction despite setbacks - Washington Post

Gen. David H. Petraeus, the commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East, sought to reassure senators Wednesday that the war effort in Afghanistan is headed in the right direction despite some setbacks, and he stressed that the military will not "head for the exits" en masse next summer when President Obama's deadline for starting a drawdown is reached.

"It is important that July 2011 be seen for what it is, a date when a process begins . . . not the date when the United States heads for the exits," Petraeus said. He said the date would mark the start of a "responsible drawdown of surge forces from Afghanistan . . . at a rate to be determined by conditions at the time."

Petraeus and Flournoy met with skepticism from Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who argued that the July 2011 date is being widely associated with a U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan that would leave Afghans in the lurch.

"Right now we are sounding an uncertain trumpet to our friends and our enemies," McCain told the committee. "They believe we are leaving in July 2011." He said the Afghan government and other countries are making accommodations for that eventuality in a way that "does not bode well for our success in Afghanistan. "If we sound an uncertain trumpet, not many will follow, and that's what's being sounded now," he said. .... Petraeus: Afghan war effort headed in right direction despite setbacks

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