Gen. David Petraeus says violence in Iraq is down on eve of elections, but threats remain

Petraeus: Iraq violence down but threats remain

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Gen. David Petraeus, who oversees the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, says he expects there will be a threat from extremists to disrupt the upcoming parliamentary elections in Iraq, but adequate security forces are there.

Petraeus, who spoke to reporters Monday before a speech at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee, said security in Iraq has greatly improved over the last two-and-a-half years but elements of al-Qaida and Shia militia remain.

He said the struggle over power in Iraq will be played out Sunday in the parliamentary elections, which he said will have to result in a working coalition of Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish Iraqis.

Petraeus took over as head of U.S. Central Command in October 2008 after executing the troop surge in Iraq in 2007.