Petraeus: US troops may need to be in Iraq “at least nine or 10 years”

Jitendra Joshi for AFP reports: US forces could be needed in Iraq for a decade to battle insurgents, the top coalition commander said Sunday while vowing a "forthright" review in September on whether a troop surge is working. Speaking on Fox News, General David Petraeus said there was broad recognition in Washington that Iraq's daunting challenges would not be resolved "in a year or even two years." "In fact, typically, I think historically, counter-insurgency operations have gone at least nine or 10 years," he said. President George W. Bush and other US officials have taken to invoking South Korea as an example of a protracted US presence in a country long after formal hostilities have ended.