BAGHDAD (AP)  A United States general in Iraq who listed pregnancy as a reason for court-martialing soldiers said Tuesday that he would never actually seek to jail someone over a pregnancy, but that he wanted to underline the seriousness of the issue.

Last month, Maj. Gen. Anthony Cucolo issued a policy that would allow the court-martialing of soldiers who become pregnant and their sexual partners. But he appeared to back away from the policy in a conference call with reporters on Tuesday, saying that it was intended to emphasize the problems created when pregnant soldiers went home and left behind a weaker unit.

“I have never considered court-martial for this; I do not ever see myself putting a soldier in jail for this,” said General Cucolo, who oversees American forces in northern Iraq. But because pregnant women automatically go home, their units are left short-staffed, he said.

The general commands a force of 22,000 soldiers, which oversees northern Iraq. He said 1,682 of those soldiers were women.