A U.S. soldier stands guard at the scene of a car
bomb attack in Baghdad April 26, 2007. At least six people were killed and
15 wounded in a car bomb blast near Baghdad University and the Al-Hamra
Hotel in the Jadriya district of southern Baghdad, police and Interior
Ministry sources said. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery
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WASHINGTON, April 26 (Xinhua) -- The top U.S. commander in
Iraq said Thursday that the situation there is "exceedingly complex and very
tough," and predicted things may get worse before getting better.
Gen. David Petraeus told reporters at the Pentagon
that success in Iraq will depend on progress made by the Iraqi government.
Petraeus also claimed that the U.S.-Iraqi security
crackdown in Baghdad has reduced sectarian attacks significantly in recent
months.
However, he noted there will be an increase in such
attacks if coalition forces pulled out of the Iraqi capital in the coming
months.
Calling his job "the most complex and challenging I
have ever seen," Petraeus avoided a direct question on how long U.S. troops will
stay in Iraq.
He spoke as the U.S. Senate began debating
legislation passed Wednesday by the House of Representatives that includes a
non-binding provision to begin pulling U.S. troops out of Iraq by October.
On Wednesday, Petraeus spent three hours in closed
meetings with members of Congress.
Lawmakers who spoke after the meetings mostly
repeated their known positions on the war.
Democratic Senator Carl Levin, who heads the Senate
Armed Services Committee, said he did not think Petraeus had changed any minds
during the sessions.
WASHINGTON, April 26 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Senate gave on
Thursday final approval to a war spending bill that requires troop withdrawal
from Iraq to begin by Oct. 1, with a goal of ending U.S. combat operations there
by next March.
U.S. President George W. Bush has repeatedly pledged to
veto the bill and White House spokeswoman Dana Perino promised Thursday morning
that he will act "very soon." Full story
WASHINGTON, April 25 (Xinhua) -- Defying a veto
threat from U.S. President George W. Bush, the House of Representatives on
Wednesday approved a compromise war funding bill which sets a timetable to
withdraw troops from Iraq.
The sharply-divided House voted 218-208 to pass
the legislation, which requires the Bush administration to start withdrawing
troops from Iraq by Oct. 1.
The 124.2-billion-U.S.-dollar bill, a compromised
version agreed on by House and Senate negotiators earlier this week, is expected
to reach Bush's desk by early next week following a final Senate vote
Thursday. Full story
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