Petraeus Cites Tentative Progress In Iraq

Progress in Iraq is still "fragile and reversible" Gen. David Petraeus, the commander of U.S. Central Command, said during the Association of the U.S. Army conference today.

But "the fragility is less" than when he testified before Congress in May, the four-star Army general said in a speech that recapped his command of U.S. forces in Iraq that wrapped up this fall.

During his latest 19-month tour in Iraq, Petraeus executed the widely reported “surge” strategy that has brought more stability to the war-torn country.

But the general said the surge was more than the 30,000 additional U.S. troops and 135,000 Iraqi forces. The U.S. military also implemented a new counterinsurgency strategy that urged low-level commanders to take initiative. And he praised advances in intelligence gathering and cooperation among intelligence agencies.