Petraeus' testimony marks his second time before Congress since he took over the Iraq war effort in early 2007. The four-star general also meets with Bush to advise on a possible delay in drawing down American forces below the 140,000-troop level for the rest of the year — a strategy both men have indicated they favor.Despite the recent spike in Iraq violence and a U.S. death toll surpassing 4,000, McCain offered an impassioned defense of Petraeus' counterinsurgency offensive that coincided with the introduction of 30,000 additional U.S. troops last year. Most of those troops, the so-called "surge" force, are to be out of the country by July.
McCain: U.S. is succeeding in Iraq
In his speech Monday, McCain said U.S. forces were succeeding and hammered Obama and Clinton for making campaign promises they cannot keep. Both Democrats vow to have American troops out of Iraq in the first year or two of their presidency.
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