Washington, D.C. ? Army Gen. David Petraeus, the top commander in Iraq, said Thursday that the surge of U.S. and Iraqi troops into Baghdad hadn’t reduced overall violence in the country and that the situation was “exceedingly complex.”

The newly named commander echoed the warnings of those who’d preceded him, saying things could get worse before they get better. He spoke of threats emanating from Syria and Iran but said that al-Qaida, which has taken responsibility for a spate of car bombings, was “probably public enemy number one.”

Petraeus’ sober assessment made clear that while he thinks he’s making progress, Iraq is a long way from stability and will require a long-term commitment from the United States.

“The level of violence has generally been unchanged” since the troop buildup began Feb. 15, Petraeus said at the Pentagon. Throughout the country, “there was a dip for a while. It was coming down and (then there were) these sensational attacks of the past couple of weeks.”