That is not just my view but that of General Jones and others. in many more desperate fights to protect our security and add an even greater cost in American lives and treasure. In testimony before the Armed Services Committee last week. General Petraeus referred to an August Defense Intelligence Agency report that stated: A rapid withdrawal would result in the further release of strong centrifugal forces in Iraq and produce a number of dangerous results. including a high risk of disintegration of the Iraqi security forces. a rapid deterioration of local security initiatives. alQaidaIraq regaining lost ground and freedom of maneuver. a marked increase in violence. and further ethnosectarian displacement and refugee flows. an exacerbation of already challenging regional dynamics. especially with respect to Iran. Those are the likely consequences of a precipitous withdrawal. and I hope the supporters of such a move will tell us how they intend to address the chaos and catastrophe that would surely follow such a course of action. No matter where my colleagues came down in 2003 about the centrality of Iraq to the war on terror. there can simply be no debate that our efforts in Iraq today are critical to the wider struggle against violent Islamic extremism.