Bush holds 'Iraq summit' to plan the future

Encouraged by the death of terrorist leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and a new government in Iraq, George Bush is gathering his top military and civilian war advisers today to plan the US role in the country’s future.

The president has planned two days of meetings at the mountainous Camp David presidential retreat, with national security advisers on hand and top commanders in Iraq connected by videoconference.

White House officials have said announcements of force reductions are not expected. Yet the top US commander in Baghdad predicted on the eve of the meeting that coalition troops will gradually move out of the country in the coming months.

Gen. George Casey said he thinks it will be possible to withdraw some of the 130,000 US forces in the months ahead as long as Iraq’s government and security forces make progress.

Casey would not say whether he plans to advise Bush on a troop reduction plan today. But the general hinted the time soon may come for such a recommendation.

“I was waiting until we got a government seated before I gave the president another recommendation so we have some sense of what we’ve got,” Casey said yesterday on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”

Iraq’s prime minister, Nouri Maliki, took office last month and appointed the key final ministers last week.

Bush has said the new government marks a new chapter in the US relationship with Iraq. With Republicans worried about losing control of Congress in November’s midterm elections and most Americans saying they would like some troops to come home, Bush is under pressure. Only a third of respondents to an Associated Press-Ipsos poll in early June supported Bush’s handling of the situation – an all-time low.

But he has been careful not to signal any troop reductions yet, continuing to say he will make those decisions when commanders in the field advise him to do so.

Casey said reductions could be coming soon, albeit slowly.

“I think as long as the Iraqi security forces continue to progress and as long as this national unity government continues to operate that way and move the country forward, I think we’re going to be able to see continued gradual reductions of coalition forces over the coming months and into next year,” Casey said.

Iraq’s national security adviser said yesterday that he believed the number of coalition forces would drop below 100,000 by year’s end. Mouwafak al-Rubaie also said the majority of coalition forces would leave before mid-2008.

Bush announced the Camp David meetings last week, as he applauded US forces for conducting an air strike that killed Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of al Qaida in Iraq. The president has cautioned that al-Zarqawi’s death will not end the war, but he says it will help.

The re-evaluation of the administration’s Iraq policy starts with a long day of meetings for Bush, his national security team and the military commanders. It continues with a luncheon attended by outside experts and dinner tonight.

Tomorrow, the sessions conclude with a joint meeting via videoconference with Bush’s Cabinet and top ministers in Maliki’s new government.

Among the most immediate concerns is how to buttress security operations in and around Baghdad. Some suggest that could involve short-term troop increases.

Casey told “Fox News Sunday” that “it’s not likely” that he would request more troops during the discussions, but he did not rule out bringing in more to help secure Baghdad in the future.

Casey described a “great shift” in responsibility from US forces to the Iraqis over the past year. He said more Iraqis are taking the lead in the fight, although that does not mean they can operate without support such as logistics, intelligence and medical evacuations.

“We think by the end of the summer, some 75% of the Iraqi brigades will be in the lead,” Casey said. “And we think by the end of the year, almost all the Iraqi divisions will be capable of leading.”