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Freshman legislators meet with national security adviser to get update on war effort.

National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley on Tuesday opened the doors to his White House office to five freshman congressmen, including Chris Carney.
Carney, D-Dimock Township, said the meeting was called to discuss the situation in Iraq and to provide the new legislators with updated information on the war effort.
Carney explained that he and other members of Congress are awaiting a report from Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of the U.S. Multi-National Force in Iraq, that will contain the general’s assessment of the Iraq situation and his recommendations for the future.
That report is due to Congress on or about Sept. 15, Carney said, at which time deliberations will commence regarding the U.S. policy in Iraq.
“Basically, we were provided a good thumbnail sketch of our situation on the ground in Iraq,” Carney said of the meeting with Hadley. “We were told that some progress has been accomplished, but will that be enough to have Gen. Petraeus recommend a reduction in U.S. troop involvement, we really can’t say.”
Carney said he has difficulty measuring progress in the war and doesn’t know if the Iraqi military is ready to take over the total effort of battling insurgency and al-Qaida.
“We really have no benchmarks for measuring progress in the war effort,” Carney said. “We don’t know, frankly, how much progress has been made. We in Congress have to take the White House’s word on it. Of course, that will be met with some skepticism.”
Carney, a former counterterrorism expert, was a senior civilian adviser at the Pentagon. He said he needs to hear Petraeus’ assessment before he can make his decision.
“It’s a wait-and-see situation,” Carney said. “I’m certainly keeping my powder dry on this. I’m not satisfied at all that the Iraqi government is in any position to take over. But we can’t stay there forever either. Changes have to be made and I think the White House understands that.”
Carney could not release the names of the other freshman members of Congress who met with Handley.