The nominee for the post of US Defence Secretary has said that the US should keep troops in Iraq beyond the planned 2011 withdrawal.
Asked whether it would be smart to provide troops in 2012, if Iraq requested, CIA chief Leon Panetta said: 'Yes''
Leon Panetta continued, 'it too continues to be a fragile situation and I believe that we should take whatever steps are necessary to make sure that we protect whatever progress we've made there.'
Leon Panetta also said that there were some 1,000 al-Qaeda still in Iraq.
His comments came during a Senate hearing.
