Here are the facts filtered out of Gen Petraeus's Statement for those that are to lazy to read the entire transcript or to busy to listen to the testimony, or plain just don't care enough to put any effort into listening to what is going on in the War on Terror in Iraq, (this would be about 95% of the American Public):
I. General Petraeus Opening Statements:
A. The most significant development of the past 8 months is the tribal rejection of Al Qaeda
B. December 2006 was the height of the ethno-sectarian violence
C. We gather and refine data from Coalition and Iraqi operations centers, using a methodology that has been in place for well over a year and that has benefited over the past seven months from the increased presence of our forces living among the Iraqi people. Two US intelligence agencies recently reviewed our methodology, and they concluded that the data we produce is the most accurate and authoritative in Iraq
D. The level of security incidents has decreased significantly since the start of the surge of offensive operations in mid-June, declining in 8 of the past 12 weeks, with the level of incidents in the past two weeks the lowest since June 2006 and with the number of attacks this past week the lowest since April 2006
E. Civilian deaths of all categories, less natural causes, have also declined considerably, by over 45% Iraq-wide since the height of the sectarian violence in December and by some 70% in Baghdad.
F. Iraq-wide, the number of ethno-sectarian deaths has come down by over 55%
G. In Baghdad, the number of ethno-sectarian deaths are down by some 80% since December 07
H. Found and cleared over 4,400 caches, nearly 1,700 more than were discovered in all of last year.
I. Monthly attack levels in Anbar have declined from some 1,350 in October 2006 to a bit over 200 in August of this year.
J. The number of car bombings and suicide attacks has also declined in each of the past 5 months, from a high of some 175 in March to about 90 this past month.
K. In the past 8 months, we have considerably reduced the areas in which Al Qaeda enjoyed sanctuary
L. We have neutralized 5 media cells, detained the senior Iraqi leader of Al Qaeda-Iraq, and killed or captured nearly 100 other key leaders and some 2,500 rank-and-file fighters.
M. Some 20,000 such individuals from tribes and groups of local citizens are already being hired for the Iraqi Police, thousands of others are being assimilated into the Iraqi Army, and thousands more are vying for a spot in Iraq’s Security Forces
N. There are nearly 140 Iraqi Army, National Police, and Special Operations Forces Battalions in the fight, with about 95 of those capable of taking the lead in operations
O. Currently, there are some 445,000 individuals on the payrolls of Iraq’s Interior and Defense Ministries
P. Based on recent decisions by Prime Minister Maliki, the number of Iraq’s security forces will grow further by the end of this year, possibly by as much as 40,000
Q. Significantly, in 2007, Iraq will, as in 2006, spend more on its security forces than it will receive in security assistance from the United States
R. Iraq is becoming one of the United States’ larger foreign military sales customers, committing some $1.6 billion to FMS already, with the possibility of up to $1.8 billion more being committed before the end of this year
S. Later this month, the Marine Expeditionary Unit deployed as part of the surge will depart Iraq. Beyond that, if my recommendations are approved, that unit’s departure will be followed by the withdrawal of a brigade combat team without replacement in mid-December and the further redeployment without replacement of four other brigade combat teams and the two surge Marine battalions in the first 7 months of 2008, until we reach the pre-surge level of 15 brigade combat teams by mid-July 2008
T. In view of this, I do not believe it is reasonable to have an adequate appreciation for the pace of further reductions and mission adjustments beyond the summer of 2008 until about mid-March of next year.
U. The Army elements in Iraq, for example, have achieved well over 130% of the reenlistment goals in the initial term and careerist categories and nearly 115% in the mid-career category
II. Ambassador Crocker Opening Statements
A. Any Iraqi under 40 years old would no nothing but the rule of the Ba’ath party before liberation four and a half years ago
B. Those 35 years were filled with crimes against humanity on every scale
C. Much progress has been made, particularly in building an institutional framework where there was none before
D. Rather than being a period in which old animosities and suspicions were overcome, the past 18 months in particular have further strained Iraqi society
E. The central Iraqi government has accepted over 1700 young men from the Abu Ghurayb area west of Baghdad including former members of insurgent groups, to be part of the Iraqi security forces
F. Five Iraqi leaders together decided to publicly express their joint desire to develop a long term relationship with the United States
G. 6 months ago, violence in al-Anbar was rampant, our forces were under daily attack, and Iraqis were cowering from the intimidation of al-Qa’ida
H. The 2007 governmental budget allocated $10 billion (nearly one-third Iraq’s expected oil export revenue) to capital investment
I. Over $3 billion was allocated to the provinces and the Kurdish Region for spending
J. The latest data show that spending units (national ministries and provincial councils) have proceeded to commit these funds at more than twice the rate of last year
K. An auction of cell phone spectrum conducted by Pricewaterhouse Coopers netted the Government a better-than-expected sum of $3.75 billion
L. Overall the Iraqi economy is performing significantly under potential
M. Electricity supply has improved in many parts of the country but is woefully inadequate in Baghdad
N. Many neighborhoods in the city receive two hours a day or less from the national grid, although power supplies for essential services such as water pumping stations or hospitals are much better
O. The Minister of Electricity said last week that it would take $25 billion through 2016 to meet demand requirements, but that by investing the $2 billion a year the Ministry is now receiving from the government’s budget, as well as private investment in power generation, that goal could be met
P. 74 countries pledged support for Iraq’s economic reform efforts at a Ministerial Conference in May
Q. The UN has reported progress in 75% of the 400 areas Iraq has identified for action
R. For the first time in years, Iraq is exporting oil through its neighbor, Turkey, as well as through the Gulf
S. Saudi Arabia is planning on opening and Embassy in Baghdad – its first since the fall of Saddam
T. 2006 was a bad year in Iraq; 2007 has brought improvement
U. Every strategy requires recalibration as time goes on; this is particularly true in Iraq where change is a daily or hourly occurrence
V. Over the coming year, we (USMI) will continue to increase our civilian efforts outside of Baghdad and the international zone
W. This presence has allowed us to focus on capacity building, especially in the provinces – units which are likely to grow in influence as more power devolves from Baghdad
X. The number of Provincial Reconstruction Teams has grown from 10 to 25 this year
III. Question and Answer Period
A. Amb Crocker to Rep Skelton: the surge hit it’s full stride just in the month of June
B. Amb Crocker to Rep Skelton: sectarian violence has diminished but it has not stopped
C. Gen Petraeus to Rep Lantos: recommended very substantial withdrawal; 5 Army Brigade Combat Teams, a Marine Expeditionary Unit, and 2 Marine battalions – a very significant force
D. Gen Petraeus to Rep Hunter: there’s a very substantial number of Iraqi battalions, especially Iraqi army battalions, that are very much in the fight
E. Gen Petraeus to Rep Hunter: 4 Iraqi military academies produce over a thousand new lieutenants a year now; a basic training facility in Anbar province as well as a police academy out there for the first time in 2 years
F. Gen Petraeus to Rep Hunter: we believe that the flow of military equipment from Iran has increased, at least based on the number of explosively formed projectile attacks, in particular and to a lesser degree, rocket attacks; it’s tough to tell how long it takes to get it all the way into the pipeline; there was a brief drop-off for a couple of weeks, but it appears that that is increasing
G. Gen Petraeus to Rep Ros-Lehtinen: the Fallujah Police Force is largely composed of locals; it has just finished the 10th Precinct out of 10, and that is allowing the Iraqi army to move outside the city
H. Gen Petraeus to Rep Ros-Lehtinen: Iraq has already had enormous humanitarian problems, with perhaps as many as 2 million outside the country and another, as many as 2 million perhaps displaced inside the country
I. Amb Crocker to Rep Spratt: the violence that has been done in Iraq, that has deepened divisions and fears, goes back to 1968; obviously it didn’t end in 2003, given the sectarian violence we say in 2006
J. Gen Petraeus to Rep Berman: the answer to how more al Qaeda is different depending on which intelligence agency you ask; there are certainly several thousand more plus these affiliates, if you will, the insurgent groups, a number of which have actually broken off from al Qaeda and, in fact, are now either fighting alongside us and applying to be a part of legitimate Iraqi institutions
K. Gen Petraeus Rep Smith: the Ministry of Interior has replaced the overall commander of the national police, two of two division commanders, nine of nine brigade commanders and 17 of 27 battalion commanders and still has some work to do
L. Gen Petraeus to Rep Manzullo: you saw how the security incidences just climbed and climbed and climbed and climbed, and really all the way until just the last several months, before they started to come down
M. Gen Petraeus to Rep Taylor: we have a substantial number of transition team advisors in that headquarters (Iraqi ground force headquarters near Al Faw)
N. Gen Petraeus to Rep Taylor: Gave general dates as to when provinces PICed (Due-out: supposed to provide dates to congress)
O. Gen Petraeus to Rep Faleomavaega: draw down the five Army brigade combat teams, the Marine expeditionary unit and the two Marine battalions, between now and next summer
P. Gen Petraeus to Rep Faleomavaega: I might that add that in fact one of Prime Minister Maliki's initiatives has been to expand the number of forces in general and also the manning of each division so that it is at 120 percent of authorized strength so that with their leave policy, which is a must
Q. Gen Petraeus to Rep Faleomavaega: They are in the fight until it is over, and if they don't take their pay home at the end of the four weeks or so or whatever that period is that was worked out for them, they will not get that pay.
R. Gen Petraeus to Rep Bartlett: They are false, that’s correct in response to The New York Times is quoted as saying that "The Pentagon no longer counts deaths from car bombings." And The Washington Post is reported as saying
S. that we -- that you will only count assassinations if the bullet entered the back of the heard and not the front. Unless you interrupt me to say that I'm wrong, I'm going to assume that both of these allegations are false.
T. Gen Petraeus to Rep Bartlett: We have a formula for ethnosectarian violence. It's acts taken by individuals of one ethnic or sectarian grouping against another ethnosectarian grouping in general for an ethnosectarian reason.
U. Gen Petraeus to Rep Davis: Just about every battalion or brigade commander, most company commanders have served in Iraq at least one tour before, some more than one
V. Gen Petraeus to Rep Royce: Support for al Qaeda extends well beyond Anbar into Abu Ghraib and other areas that used to be sanctuaries for Iraq, three important neighborhoods in particular: Amiriyah, Ghazalia and Adhamiya.
W. Gen Petraeus to Rep Royce: We still estimate that -- and it's very hard to tell, but somewhere --80 percent or so of the suicide bombers are from outside Iraq.
X. Gen Petraeus to Rep Royce: We believe that Saudi Arabia is still probably the largest country in terms of the foreign fighters, although that again may be diminishing somewhat
Y. Rep Abercrombie to all: The rate and overall number of U.S. troops killed in Iraq has gone up, not down, from 2006 to 2007. From January to August 2006, 462 U.S. troops; from January to August 2007, 740.
Z. Gen Petraeus to Rep Castor: We could have literally run this surge all the way until April. That's the first time that a surge brigade hits 15 months.
AA. Gen Petraeus to Rep Castor: The recent celebration of the death of the Seventh Imam, which results in the convergence of about typically approaching a million pilgrims to a(n) important shrine in North-Central Baghdad, the Kadhimiya Shrine, this year was planned and executed by Iraqi forces. Two years ago, there were nearly a thousand pilgrims who were stampeded to death when rumors of enemy action or perhaps actual activities.
BB. Gen Petraeus to Rep Castor: We have about 800 juveniles and we recently created a school that will help them as well
CC. Gen Petraeus to Rep Payne as to why the GAO report has different numbers: With respect to the GAO report, the answer is the data cutoff. At the very least, their data cutoff was five weeks ago and in some cases, I think -- we might check this, but in some cases I think it was nine weeks ago.
DD. Gen Petraeus to Rep Payne: That's why I mentioned that eight of the last 12 weeks, that in fact, the level of security incidents has come down. I don't know how far you have to go back to see that kind of trend; it is certainly a couple of years.
EE. Gen Petraeus to Rep Payne: It takes us a year just to reconstitute a brigade that has actually already been in the fight, keep some 40 (percent) to 50 percent of its members.
FF. Gen Petraeus to Rep McKeon: On July 4th, we had a large reenlistment ceremony -- 588 members of different services raised their right hand
GG. Gen Petraeus to Rep Reyes request to address the differences where Gen Petraeus said that the Iraqis have taken the lead in many areas while General Jones' observations were that they're probably 12 to 18 months away from being able to operate independently: Gen Jones was talking about the institutions doing that as opposed to what I was talking about, is the fact that there are many Iraqi force units who are operating on their own.
HH. Amb Crocker to Rep Reyes: The surge in PRT personnel that this operation is requiring is to be an additional 283 people in place by the end of the year.
II. Gen Petraeus to Rep: A number of other outposts/infrastructure that have been established as well among the population—A couple of dozen in Ramadi—police outposts with Marines and ISF. In Fallujah there are 10 police districts each with a Marine force and ISF combined
JJ. Gen Petraeus to Rep Engle: Iraqis taking losses at 3 times CF rate.
KK. Amb Crocker to Rep Aiken (sp?): There are 3 ePRTs in Anbar in addition to the PRT there and almost every town in Anbar has an elected Mayor and council