House Democrat says Iraq policy left nation vulnerable to attack

House Democrat says Iraq policy left nation vulnerable to attack By ANNE FLAHERTY • Associated Press Writer • April 9, 2008 WASHINGTON — The Bush administration’s Iraq policy has left the United States with insufficient resources to protect itself from attack, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee said today. “When looking at the needs in Afghanistan, the effort in Iraq — however important — is putting at risk our ability to decisively defeat those most likely to attack us,” said Rep. Ike Skelton, D-Mo. “Iraq is also preventing us from effectively preparing for the next conflict.” Skelton’s comments on the second day of testimony by Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, and Ryan Crocker, the U.S. ambassador there. Petraeus told lawmakers that security gains in the war zone are too fragile to promise further drawdowns. “The situation in certain areas is still unsatisfactory and innumerable challenges remain,” Petraeus told the House panel.Skelton and other Democrats on the committee were expected to focus on the health of U.S. forces, which they contend are stretched too thin by the war.Republicans also planned to voice their concern about the strain on the military but said they were considerably more optimistic about the situation in Iraq than last year.“No one can deny that the security situation in Iraq has improved,” said Rep. Duncan Hunter of California, the No. 1 Republican on the committee.Petraeus said he has recommended to President George W. Bush that the U.S. complete, by the end of July, the withdrawal of the 20,000 extra troops. Beyond that, the general proposed a 45-day period of “consolidation and evaluation,” to be followed by an indefinite period of assessment before he would recommend any further pullouts.Bush is expected to embrace Petraeus’ plan, which reflects a conservative approach that leaves open the possibility that roughly 140,000 U.S. troops could remain in Iraq when the president leaves office next year — a strategy Democrats are criticizing.