By GEOFF MULVIHILL
Associated Press Writer
PRINCETON, N.J. – The U.S. commander overseeing troops in Iraq and Afghanistan said Saturday that the military is on pace in its plans to shift away from a combat mission in Iraq, but he warned that casualties will worsen in Afghanistan.
Army Gen. David Petraeus said in a speech at Princeton University that after more than eight years of fighting in Afghanistan, the U.S. finally is getting enough troops, diplomats and organizational structure to be able to keep extremist groups from taking over again there.
“We’ve gotten the inputs right, now we are embarking on what’s going to be the output,” he said. “The reality is it’s going to be hard, it’s going to be hard all the time. We’re going to have tough losses.”