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 Most of the soldiers at FOB Delta, some 100 miles southeast of Baghdad, were out on patrol or sleeping when Petraeus' comments were broadcast late Monday and Tuesday in Iraq.
But some heard it and others have read about it, and say they agree with their commander's assessment.
Staff Sgt. Matthew Nicholls of the 71st Medical Detachment, visiting FOB Delta from his post in southern Iraq to do an assessment, said the military still needs time to clean up mistakes made after the 2003 invasion, including the need to build an Iraqi army from scratch and to secure the borders.
"I think our initial assessment was too rosy," he said after reading about the hearings while sitting in the library at the recreation center. "It takes time to build an army and I think we should've secured the borders right away."
The 36-year-old from Mobile, Ala., also said American politicians need to be more understanding.
"They can be critical because they are politicians and their main goal is to be re-elected, but they see a much more limited piece than the troops on the ground," he said.
"What happens in Washington D.C. when somebody signs a piece of paper doesn't necessarily make it here in the desert," he said. "You can't make everybody come together. Sometimes the best you can do is find intermediaries and that takes time."
The U.S. has added 30,000 troops to Iraq since the start of the year in an effort to crack down on the sectarian violence that has been plaguing the country.
Petraeus told lawmakers that the plan has worked, "bringing down the number of ethno-sectarian deaths substantially in Baghdad and across Iraq since the height of the sectarian violence last December," but that civilian deaths were still at "troubling levels."
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 Petraeus recommended scaling back the U.S. troop levels by July 2008 to some 130,000-135,000, down from about 168,000 now. He said he foresaw even deeper troop cuts beyond July, but he recommended that President Bush wait until at least March to decide when to go below 130,000
-- and at what pace.
Sgt. Nathaniel Killip, 24, of Indianapolis, caught part of the general's presentation on TV and said he agreed that withdrawing all U.S. troops or setting a date to do so before Iraqi security forces have proven themselves ready to take over would open the doors for insurgents to attack.
"They're just going to lay back and wait until it's a softer target," he said.
Killip said the troop buildup had made a noticeable difference since more forces arrived at FOB Delta in June, pointing to a dramatic drop in rocket and mortar attacks against the base in the past two weeks.
Col. Peter Baker, the commander of the Fort Sill, Okla.-based 214th Fires Brigade, said the U.S. strategy was working but needs more time.
"It takes time to build relationships with the Iraqis. It's gotta be just a very deliberate process," he said.
Baker also pointed out that Petraeus had sent a letter to troops before going before Congress in which he gave them a preview of what he had to say. "It was a recognition that there's still a ways to go," he said.
[Associated Press; by Kim Gamel]
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