Officials: Bush to Announce Troop Cut (30,000 by next summer)

[The Straight Story]

Officials: Bush to Announce Troop Cut

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

In a prime-time television address, probably 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 finally drafted. White House officials were preparing the address even as the U.S. commanding general, David Petraeus, and U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker were presenting arguments to stay the course in Iraq in a second day of testimony on Capitol Hill.

The reductions envisioned by the White House mirror those proposed by Petraeus and would leave approximately 130,000 U.S. troops on the ground by August, roughly the level at which they were before Bush ordered the buildup early this year, the officials said.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_IRAQ?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=HOME

[DS1]

1. essentially, pre-'surge' levels

big whoop

[BOSSHOG]

4. Cutting the number of troops on the ground to where they were 6 months ago??

bush knows he can fool 23% all the time. But wouldn't such a move actually piss off the brilliant conservative minds of our country? We have to keep our kids in Iraq shedding their blood for no apparent reason to make chickenhawk conservatives feel macho and all good about their American selves.

[flyarm]

2. not good enough..out all out now!! eom

[flyarm]

3. not good enough..out all out now!! eom

[Sagan]

5. THEY WOULD HAVE TO COME HOME ANYWAY!!

The escalation cannot be maintained. That many troops would have to come home anyway, by rotation! It is a FALSE promise!

They are desperate to appear compromising, so they offer NOTHING as their first compromise.

[underpants]

11. Thank you

April 2008 is the gorilla in the room. Not surprising that W will try to take credit for it. :eyes:

[Bitwit1234]

6. He is playing with the troops for political gain for the republicans

He is a bunch of crap, but just wait all the republican shows on TV and they are all that, are gonna start to praise him. And he is only doing this show to try to get republicans elected. It serves the democrats right. If they had done what they were elected to do, the republicans would not have any advantage.

[Jim__]

7. They've announced "future" troop cuts before.

His "plans" are meaningless.

[Connie_Corleone]

8. That's no different from what Petraeus said.

Pre-surge level.

[FSogol]

9. Too little, too late. A pathetic attempt to prop up the failing GOP. n/t

[stillcool]

10. Bull crap...

They've been cutting the troops since the statue fell. I can't effing believe the same line is used over and over and over, and over and over...for four flipping years. I hate this shit.

[Double T]

12. Start bringing the troops home just in time for the elections........

and bushco's exit from office. Does anyone have the idea that ALL of this is politically and election motivated? Tell me it isn't so!!

[Disturbed]

15. This is more of the same BS. The Death Machine keeps

grinding, spewing out the blood for oil.

[Johonny]

13. The only thing I ever want to hear from this loser is

I'm sorry I sucked at president, I resign.

[mvd]

14. Oh, so we're back where we started

That's not a cut. It's the negating of the surge. Use their tax-related talking point strategy against them.