Petraeus: U.S. Military Needs to Play Bigger Role in Syria

In his first testimony since resigning from the CIA, David Petraeus apologized to Congress for leaking classified information to his former lover and advocated a stepped-up military intervention into Syria that would go well beyond what the Obama administration has so far been willing to do.

Petraeus, a retired four-star Army general who previously oversaw the war efforts in both Iraq and Syria, said the U.S. should establish safe zones in Syria for refugees and demand that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad stop dropping barrel bombs on military and opposition targets. If Assad failed to head those calls, Petraeus said the U.S. should shoot Syrian aircraft out of the sky.

“You can do this with, again, lots of different forms of cruise missiles coming off of ships, subs and planes,” he said.

Petraeus, speaking to the Senate Armed Services Committee,  argued that protecting more refugees and giving U.S.-backed Syrian rebels the authority to attack Syrian government forces as well as Islamic State militants would help the U.S. win over broader swaths of Syria’s Sunni majority.

The testimony comes as the Obama administration has acknowledged the failure of the Pentagon’s program to train and equip moderate members of the Syrian opposition. Earlier this month, a senior U.S. general acknowledged that the $500 million program, which planned to produce 4,500 Syrian rebels by the end of the year, had only succeeded in training a handful of fighters currently operating within the country.

Still, while advocating for more muscular military efforts, Petraeus cautioned Republican senators about the importance of securing a political agreement with the Assad government to resolve the Syrian conflict. He warned that a hasty overthrow of the Assad regime could result in a worse outcome than currently exists.

“He has to go ultimately, but the keyword there is ultimately, underscored, in bold letters,” he said. “Because until we have a sense of what will replace him, we need to be very careful not to push him out, because what comes after could actually be even worse.”

In Iraq, where the Islamic State still controls large swathes of territory, Petraeus recommended embedding U.S. advisers with Iraqi units at the brigade level and allowing U.S. personnel to order airstrikes on behalf of the Iraqis.

“We are not where we should be at this point,” he said. “In my judgment, increased support for the Iraqi security forces, Sunni tribal forces and Kurdish peshmerga is needed, including embedding U.S. adviser elements to the brigade headquarters level of those Iraqi forces fighting ISIS.”

Petraeus also recommended moving the U.S. headquarters for combating the Islamic State from Kuwait to Baghdad to allow for more interaction between the top American commander and the U.S. ambassador in Iraq, Stuart Jones.

Members of the Senate panel uniformly thanked the general for his service, but offered little indication that they would act on his recommendations through legislation. At the outset of the hearing, Petraeus apologized for leaking classified information to his mistress, Paula Broadwell, while she was researching a book about his leadership methods — an event that led to his resignation in November 2012.

“Four years ago, I made a serious mistake — one that brought discredit on me and pain to those closest to me,” Petraeus said. “It was a violation of the trust placed in me and a breach of the values to which I had been committed throughout my life.”

“There is nothing I can do to undo what I did,” he added. “I can only say again how sorry I am to those I let down and then strive to go forward with a greater sense of humility and purpose, and with gratitude to those who stood with me during a very difficult chapter in my life.”

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