Petraeus, January 2004: We're 6 Months Away from Handing Control of War to Iraqis

Petraeus was ridiculously wrong in 2004 and he is wrong now:

The US hopes to reduce its presence in Iraq to about 50,000 by the end of 2005, coalition officials say. The biggest short-term reduction, it appears, will be in the north.

Stryker will be joined by other elements from the Army and perhaps coalition allies, but Maj. Gen. David Petraeus, the 101st's commander, says there will be an "appreciable reduction in forces" in his area of operation. He thinks Stryker can handle the challenge.

"They will have the benefit of a substantially larger Iraqi security presence coming on line,'' says General Petraeus, whose unit has trained more than 10,000 Iraqi soldiers, border guards, and police. "This is an occasion where we'll see how the new Iraqi security forces are going to do. I think they'll be fine."

Petraeus has been slowly pulling his forces back since September, seeking to hand over more and more authority to a local governor and council selected shortly after the 101st arrived in the Mosul area last April. "We're only six months away from June and handing control of the country back over to Iraqis," he says.