The top American military leader in Iraq says more US troops maybe headed to war. Speaking in Baghdad Tuesday, General George Casey said the US has set a new target to hand security control to the Iraqi government for no sooner than the end of next year. General Casey said he believes Iraq will see significant progress by that time but indicated that will require more US troops. He also blamed Iran and Syria for the ongoing violence.

Gen. George Casey: “Both Iran and Syria continue to be decidedly unhelpful by providing support to the different extremist and terrorist groups operating inside Iraq. Now if you add all this — the intensities of Ramadan and the fact that the new government is about 150 days old — it makes for a difficult situation and it’s likely to remain that way over the near term.”

General Casey spoke alongside US Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad.

US Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad: “My message today is straightforward. Despite the difficult challenges we face, success in Iraq is possible and can be achieved on a realistic timetable. Iraqi leaders must step up to achieve key political and security milestones on which they have agreed.”

For several minutes, Casey and Khalilzad were forced to speak in the dark following a power outage in the US-controlled Green Zone.