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Article: Petraeus: Iraq Is 'Central Front' for Extremists
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- September 10, 2008
- Author:
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Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, the departing commander of U.S.
forces in Iraq, said that the country remains "the central front"
for al-Qaeda and other extremist groups but acknowledged that
violence is rising in Afghanistan and Pakistan -- battlegrounds he
will soon oversee as the next head of the U.S. military's Central
Command.
In an interview Tuesday, hours before President Bush spoke about
the need to send more troops to Afghanistan, Petraeus said, "Iraq is
still viewed as the central front, if you will, for al-Qaeda and
extremism of that flavor."
Petraeus oversaw the dramatic drop in violence in Iraq that began
last summer as the Bush administration deployed 30,000 additional
troops ...