Gen. Petraeus insists U.S. needs to stay in Iraq indefinitely

Gen. David Petraeus said Tuesday that at least 140,000 U.S. troops should remain indefinitely in Iraq - and also appeared to move the goalposts for defining the success of their mission.

Despite genuine gains, "We haven't turned any corners, we haven't seen any lights at the end of the tunnel. The champagne bottle has been pushed to the back of the refrigerator. And the progress, while real, is fragile and is reversible," he cautioned the Senate Armed Services Committee.

The U.S. troop surge "significantly reduced" what had been the main threat from Al Qaeda in Iraq, Petraeus said. But the effort to stabilize the country was in peril from so-called "Special Groups" of terrorists trained and funded by Iran who were behind the recent violence in Basra and Baghdad, he added. "Unchecked, the Special Groups pose the greatest long-term threat to the viability of a democratic Iraq," Petraeus said in marathon testimony before two Senate committees.

He said the new main threat from Iran influenced him in deciding to stop troop withdrawals at the end of July when the remaining surge troops come home to leave U.S. force levels at about 140,000.

Additional withdrawals would stop completely for at least 45 days, Petraeus said, and would be followed by a "process of assessment" to determine when pullouts could be renewed.

Despite repeated attempts by senators of both parties to gauge how long his assessment might last, Petraeus refused to be pinned down.

"Could that be a month, could that be two months, could that be four months?" asked Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.).

It could be less, but, "It could be more than that," Petraeus said. "Again, it's when the conditions are met that we can make a recommendation for further reductions."

Petraeus later said withdrawals would be "conditions-based" and "it is just flat not responsible to try to put down a stake in the ground and say this is when it would be or that is when it would be."

Petraeus' statements virtually guaranteed that the next President will inherit a significant U.S. troop presence in Iraq and also ensured the war will remain a major issue in the November election.

President Bush will back up Petraeus in meetings today with congressional leaders, who have acknowledged they lack the votes to change his policy.

Bush also was to make a daytime Iraq address tomorrow, announcing that U.S. troop tours in Iraq and Afghanistan will be reduced from 15 to 12 months.

Democrats on the committees generally pressed Petraeus without success for a withdrawal timetable, while Republicans deferred to the four-star officer.

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) was an exception. In tones of resignation, Collins said that "success always seems to be around the corner" in Iraq.