General Petraeus Calls for a Delay in Troop Reductions, Signaling Further Strains for U.S. Military Forces
But Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and other military officials have repeatedly warned that soldiers need more so-called dwell time, too, between repeated deployments. Sen. Hillary Clinton, in her closely watched six-minute block of questioning, highlighted a recent study that found that 27 percent of noncommissioned officers on their third or fourth tours of Iraq showed symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.
Beyond the costs to the individual soldier, there are opportunity costs, too, to the war in Iraq. Petraeus and others pointed this out today. Committee members also mentioned a recent report that concluded that there is an "appalling gap" in America's homeland security defense.
Mullen mentioned opportunity costs, too, in a discussion with reporters last week. Current troop levels in Iraq, he said, "don't allow us to fill the need that we have in Afghanistan. Equally broadly around the world, there are other places we would put forces," he added, "that we just can't because of the pressure that's on our forces right now in the Central Command"—the military command that oversees U.S. troops in the Middle East.
In his comments, Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman Joseph Biden put forward that America has spent less money on six years in Afghanistan than it does in three weeks in Iraq, where the war costs approximately $12 billion each month.
And what, precisely, is America getting for its money, others wondered. Many questioned the progress of Iraq's security forces after America has spent $24 billion and years training them. "Success always seems to be just around the corner when it comes to the training and equipping of Iraqi security forces," said Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine. "When put to the test, the Iraqi forces have performed very unevenly."
As for the common refrain—is it worth it?—Petraeus did ultimately give Warner the answer he wanted. Just as he had after elaborating on his answer during testimony last September, the general answered yes. "Senator, I do believe it is worth it, or I would not have, I guess, accepted" the job as commander of U.S. forces in Iraq. "I mean, you do what you're ordered to do, but you sometimes are asked whether you would like to or are willing to take on a task. And I took on the task because I do believe that it is worth it."
Seated beside Petraeus, Ambassador Ryan Crocker agreed. He anticipated the question, in fact, in a somber note during his opening statement. "Five years ago, the statue of Saddam Hussein was toppled in Baghdad," he said. "The euphoria of that moment evaporated long ago." In the time since, "Americans have invested a great deal in Iraq, in blood as well as treasure," he said. "And they have the right to ask whether this is worth it."
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