Odierno: U.S. May Never Declare Victory in Iraq

Army Gen. Ray Odierno’s comments came one day after he announced at a congressional hearing that he will send home about 4,000 additional troops by the end of October.

The top American commander in Iraq said Thursday it is unlikely the U.S. can declare victory by the time forces leave at the end of 2011.

“I’m not sure we will ever see anyone declare victory in Iraq, because first off, I’m not sure we’ll know for 10 years or five years,” Army Gen. Ray Odierno told reporters at a Pentagon briefing.

“What we’ve done here is we’re giving Iraq an opportunity in the long term to be a strategic partner of the United States, but more importantly, be a partner in providing regional stability inside of the Middle East,” he said.

Odierno’s comments came one day after he announced at a congressional hearing that he will send home about 4,000 additional troops by the end of October.

He told the House Armed Services Committee that there are about 124,000 U.S. troops currently in Iraq and he expects to meet Obama’s deadline of sending home all but 50,000 by September 2010 as the military ends its combat mission there.

He also urged lawmakers not to lose sight of the nation as a key Mideast ally given its location and natural resources, like oil.

He echoed that theme Thursday.

“They have an opportunity to build an open economy,” he said. “They have an opportunity to build, to continue to move forward with their nascent democracy.”

But Odierno said Iraq won’t be able to meet those goals in the next few years.

“It’s going to be several years before we know,” he said.

FOX News Channel’s Justin Fishel contributed to this report.

~ by thebravoshow on October 8, 2009.