(Washington, DC) - U.S. Representative Jason Altmire (PA-4) released the following statement today following General David Petraeus's report to Congress on military progress in Iraq:

"After my meeting with Gen. Petraeus in Baghdad two weeks ago, I was confident that he would recommend a drawdown of U.S. troops in Iraq.  In his statement today, Gen. Petraeus did mention the possibility of a small drawdown; however, I am disappointed that the majority of such a drawdown would not begin for several months and that, one year from now, we will remain at pre-surge levels with no end in sight.  A policy that maintains our military presence in Iraq at pre-surge levels - basically a stay the course policy - is in stark contrast to nearly every other recent report on Iraq, including last week's independent reports issued by the GAO and Gen. Jones."