Petraeus says Iraq still key to al-Qaida

BAGHDAD, Sept. 9 (UPI) -- Iraq remains vital for al-Qaida and other terrorist groups because of its oil wealth, said Army Gen. David Petraeus, the U.S. military commander in Iraq.

Besides its oil wealth, al-Qaida leaders are interested maintaining a presence in Iraq because of the country's proximity to Gulf states where they have been rejected in recent years, Petraeus told The Washington Post.

Acknowledging that violence was on the rise in Afghanistan and Pakistan, Petraeus said "it is still assessed that Iraq is still viewed as the central front, if you will, for al-Qaida and extremism of that flavor."

Petraeus will hand over command in Iraq to Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno Sept. 16 and later take over Central Command, the U.S. military headquarters responsible for the region from Kenya to Kazakhstan and includes Iraq and Afghanistan.

Petraeus said the threats al-Qaida and Taliban "pose to Pakistan and Afghanistan are obviously very serious" and the increase in violence in Afghanistan is "cause for significant concern."

However, "I'm not in the least contending that al-Qaida senior leadership is not located somewhere in the western border region of Pakistan."

President Bush announced Tuesday that 8,000 troops will be withdrawn from Iraq in the first weeks of 2009 and that additional forces will be sent to Afghanistan.