WASHINGTON — Gen. David Petraeus slumped at the witness table this morning while testifying at a Senate hearing, and a spokesman said the general was likely dehydrated and jet-lagged from his travels.

Petraeus, 57, revived after a few seconds and left the room under his own power. After about 20 minutes, he returned to the hearing room, but Sen. Carl Levin, the panel chairman, decided to postpone the hearing.

"It appears he was maybe a little jet-lagged, dehydrated certainly," said Petraeus' spokesman, Col. Erik Gunhus.

Petraeus had finished telling Sen. John McCain that he believed the planned 2011 drawdown of U.S. troops in Afghanistan remains on track, and McCain was responding when the room fell silent and aides began crowding around the four-star general.

Petraeus, who oversees the war in Iraq and Afghanistan as head of U.S. Central Command, briefly put his head on the table, then rose, appearing dazed. He stood under his own power and was escorted from the room.

Petraeus himself returned to the room briefly and told the senators he "was feeling a little bit lightheaded there."

"It wasn't Sen. McCain's question," the general added.