Petraeus aftermath

General David Petraeus, left, and Ryan Crocker testifying to congress earlier this week [Reuters]

The US military commander in Iraq and the US envoy in Baghdad have presented their assessments of the so-called US troop ‘surge’ to US congress.

General David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker said that the ‘surge’, launched earlier this year, is working.

But both men faced tough questions during their testimonies in congress – particularly from Democratic presidential candidates.

President George Bush has accepted the advice from General Petraeus of a limited troop withdrawal.

But the issue of Iraq is fuelling tensions within the US – and it is likely to be a hot topic in the US presidential campaign which officially starts early next year.

Meanwhile, according to a recent survey of people across Iraq, 70 per cent of Iraqis believe security has worsened in the area covered by the US troop ‘surge’.

And what of Iraq’s neighbours? Both General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker singled out Iran for criticism. They cited evidence of Iranian involvement in attacks on US troops.

This special episode of Inside Iraq looks at the implications within the US, and also explores what the American vision of its Iraq policy might mean for Iraq and its neighbours.

Our guests on Inside Iraq this week include Hoshyar Zebari, Iraq’s foreign minister, Carl Conetta, a co-director of the Project on Defense Alternatives, Diaa Rashwan, a senior researcher at Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, Edward Walker, a former US assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern Affairs and a former US ambassador to Israel and Egypt, retired Lieutenant General Robert Gard, who today serves as the senior military fellow at the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, Patrick Clawson, the deputy director for research at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, and Steven Clemons, a senior fellow at the New America Foundation.

Watch this episode of Inside Iraq here:

Part 1:

Part 2:

Part 3:

Part 4:

This episode of Inside Iraq aired from 14th September 2007

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