General David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker continued their appearance on Capitol Hill Tuesday with a hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations and Armed Services committees. General Petraeus said he foresees a July 2008 rollback of the 30,000 troops sent to Iraq under the so-called troop surge earlier this year. Critics say the prediction is largely meaningless because that same number of troops is already slated to come home. President Bush is expected to endorse Petraeus’ plan in a speech tomorrow night. But administration officials continue to insist any withdrawal is conditioned on their assessment of the situation on the ground. In one exchange, Senator John Warner asked Petraeus if he believed his recommendations would make America safer. Petraeus initially evaded the question. When Warner asked again, Petraeus replied: “I don’t know.” Petraeus later changed his answer to yes when asked for a third time. Democratic presidential candidates were among the most vocal in addressing Petraeus.

Senator Joe Biden: “The American people will not support an infinite war whose sole remaining purpose is to prevent the situation in Iraq from becoming worse than it is today. It’s time to turn the corner, in my view, gentlemen. We should stop the surge and start bringing our troops home.”

A recent ABC News/BBC poll shows more than two-thirds of Iraqis believe the so-called troop surge has made their lives worse.

Baghdad resident Youssif Omar: “For sure, the U.S. troops should withdraw. It is a must that no one can disagree with. At the same time, we can say that we have a good government, brilliant mentalities, and we can say that we have good leaders. If all those factors united, we will support the withdrawal of the U.S. troops.”