Kabul, Aug. 16: Gen. David H. Petraeus, the commander of American and Nato forces, began a campaign on Sunday to convince an increasingly sceptical public that the American-led coalition can still succeed here despite months of setbacks, saying he had not come to Afghanistan to preside over a “graceful exit.”
In an hour-long interview with the New York Times, the general argued against any precipitous withdrawal of forces in July 2011, the date set by President Obama to begin at least a gradual reduction of the 100,000 troops on the ground. Gen. Petraeus said that it was only in the last few weeks that the war plan had been fine-tuned and given the resources that it required. “For the first time,” he said, “we will have what we have been working to put in place for the last year and a half.”
In another in a series of interviews, on NBC’s Meet the Press, Gen. Petraeus even appeared to leave open the possibility that he would recommend against any withdrawal of American forces next summer.
“Certainly, yes,” he said when the show’s host, Mr David Gregory, asked him if, depending on how the war was proceeding, he might tell the President that a drawdown should be delayed. “He expressed very clearly that what he wants from me is my best professional advice.”