Chinese language - Officials: Bush to announce troop cut

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WORLD / Middle East

Officials: Bush to announce troop cut

(AP)
Updated: 2007-09-12 06:31

WASHINGTON - US President Bush will tell the nation this week he plans to
reduce the American troop presence in Iraq by as many as 30,000 by next
summer, but will condition those and further cuts on continued progress,
The Associated Press has learned.

US President Bush pauses as he meets with Democratic and Republican
Congressional leaders in the Cabinet Room of the White House, Tuesday,
Sept. 11, 2007. [AP]

In a prime-time television address Thursday, Bush will endorse the
recommendations of his top general and top diplomat in Iraq, following
their appearance at two days of hearings in Congress, administration
officials said. The White House plans to issue a written status report on
the so-called "surge" on Friday, they said.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because Bush's speech is
not yet final. Bush was rehearsing his remarks even as the US commanding
general, David Petraeus, and US Ambassador Ryan Crocker were presenting
their arguments for a second day on Capitol Hill.

In the speech, the president will say he understands Americans' deep
concerns about US involvement in Iraq and their desire to bring the
troops home, they said. Bush will say that, after hearing from Petraeus
and Crocker, he has decided on a way forward that will reduce the US
military presence but not abandon Iraq to chaos, according to the
officials.

The address will stake out a conciliatory tone toward Congress. But while
mirroring Petraeus' strategy, Bush will place more conditions on
reductions than his general did, insisting that conditions on the ground
must warrant cuts and that now-unforeseen events could change the plan.

Petraeus recommended that a 2,000-member Marine unit return home this
month without replacement. That would be followed in mid-December with
the departure of an Army brigade numbering 3,500 to 4,000 soldiers. Under
the general's plan, another four combat brigades would be withdrawn by
July 2008.

That could leave the US with as few as 130,000-135,000 troops in Iraq,
down from about 168,000 now, although Petraeus was not precise about
whether all the about 8,000 support troops sent with those extra combat
forces would be withdrawn by July.

Petraeus said he foresaw even deeper troop cuts beyond July, but he
recommended that Bush wait until at least March to decide when to go
below 130,000 - and at what pace.

At the White House, Bush met with House and Senate lawmakers of both
parties and he publicly pledged to consider their views. Senate Minority
Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said the president didn't talk about the
nationwide address.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Bush appears poised merely to
bring the country back to where it was before the election that put
Democrats in control of Congress - with 130,000 troops in Iraq.

"Please. It's an insult to the intelligence of the American people that
that is a new direction in Iraq," she said. "We're as disappointed as the
public is that the president has a tin ear to their opinion on this war."

In his speech, Bush will adopt Petraeus' call for more time to determine
the pace and scale of future withdrawals and offer to report to Congress
in March, one official said.

As Petraeus and Crocker have, Bush will acknowledge difficulties, and the
fact that few of the benchmarks set by Congress to measure progress of
the buildup have been met, the official said. Yet, he will stress that a
precipitous US withdrawal would be a catastrophe for Iraq and US
interests.

The president will discuss "bottom up" security improvements, notably in
Anbar Province, which he visited on Labor Day and where Sunni leaders
have allied themselves with US forces to fight insurgents. And, he will
note incremental progress on the political front despite unhelpful roles
played by Iran and Syria, the official said.

Crocker was particularly keen on detailing diplomatic developments,
including Saudi Arabia's move to open an embassy in Baghdad and a third
conference of Iraqi neighbors to be hosted by Turkey in Istanbul at the
end of October.

In Congress, cracks in Republican support for the Iraq war remained, as
epitomized by heated questioning Tuesday of Petraeus.

"Is this a mission shift?" asked Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska. "Are we
continuing down the same path that we have laid out before, entirely
reliant on the abiulity of the Iraqis to come together to achieve that
political reconciliation?"

Despite lingering skepticism of several members, Petraeus' testimony
helped to solidify support elsewhere in the GOP, keeping Democrats far
from the 60 votes they needed to pass legislation ordering troops home.

"Americans should be happy that we can begin to reduce troop levels
months ahead of schedule," said Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M.

Sen. Norm Coleman said he wants a longer-term vision other than
suggestions that Petraeus and Crocker return to Capitol Hill in mid-March
to give another assessment. "Americans want to see light at the end of
the tunnel," said Coleman, R-Minn.

Many rank-and-file Republicans say they are deeply uneasy about keeping
troops in Iraq through next summer, but they also remain reluctant to
embrace legislation ordering troops home by next spring. Democrats, under
substantial pressure by voters and politically influential anti-war
groups, had anticipated that a larger number of Republicans by now would
have turned against Bush on the war because of grim poll numbers and the
upcoming 2008 elections.

"I'm optimistic that when the votes are counted, they'll be roughly the
same as they have been all year," said McConnell, the Senate Republican
leader. "As you know, we've lost some, but not a lot and I think that's a
likely outcome again."

Echoing testimony given to the House on Monday, Petraeus and Crocker
acknowledged that Iraq remains largely dysfunctional but said violence
had decreased since the influx of added US troops.

Crocker said he fears that announcing troop withdrawals, as Democrats
want, would focus Iraqi attention on "building the walls, stocking
ammunition and getting ready for a big nasty street fight" rather than
working toward reconciliation. "It will take longer than we initially
anticipated" for Iraq's leaders to address the country's problems, he
said.

The hearing fell on the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist
attacks.

In an unusual admission, Petraeus said he was not sure whether his
proposal on Iraq would make America safer.

A visibly heated Sen. John Warner, R-Va., asked the question to which
Petraeus said: "Sir, I don't know, actually. I have not sat down and
sorted that out in my mind. What I have focused on and riveted on is how
to accomplish the mission of the multinational force Iraq."

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