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WORLD / Middle East
Bush approves gradual troop cuts in Iraq
(Agencies)
Updated: 2007-09-14 06:42
WASHINGTON - Rejecting calls to leave Iraq, US President Bush on Thursday
approved gradual US troop reductions from their highest level of the war
and said more forces can come home as progress is made. At the same time,
he said Iraq needs "an enduring relationship with America."
This photo provided by the White House shows President Bush, center,
going over a draft of tonight's address to the nation with members of the
White House speech writing staff, Thursday, Sept. 13, 2007, in the Oval
Office of the White House in Washington. From left are: Marc Theissen,
the president, Bill McGurn and Christopher Michel. [AP]?
In remarks prepared for a prime-time address from the Oval Office, Bush
presented his strategy for reducing US forces. "The principle guiding my
decisions on troop levels in Iraq is: return on success. The more
successful we are, the more American troops can return home."
With no dramatic change in course, Bush's decision sets the stage for a
fiery political debate in Congress and on the 2008 presidential campaign
trail.
Bush approved the recommendations of Gen. David Petraeus, the top US
commander in Iraq, to withdraw at least 21,500 combat forces and an
undetermined number of support troops by July.
The White House said 5,700 troops would be home by Christmas, but refused
to pinpoint how many would return by summer.
Bush said the US engagement will stretch beyond his presidency, requiring
military, financial and political support from Washington. He said Iraqi
leaders "have asked for an enduring relationship with America.
"And we are ready to begin building that relationship in a way that
protects our interests in the region and requires many fewer American
troops," Bush said.
Bush said his strategy?- leaving about 130,000 US soldiers in Iraq to
continue fighting?- bridges the desires of people who want to bring
troops home and those who believe that success in Iraq is essential to US
security.
"The way forward I have described tonight makes it possible, for the
first time in years, for people who have been on opposite sides of this
difficult debate to come together," Bush said.
That appeared unlikely, however, based on the reaction of Democratic
leaders who want deadlines for withdrawals.
"The American people long ago lost faith in the president's leadership of
the war in Iraq because his rhetoric has never matched the reality on the
ground," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. "The choice is between
a Democratic plan for responsible redeployment and the president's plan
for an endless war in Iraq."
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