Bush speech expected on troops withdrawal
The US President is expected to make a speech in the next few days, following plans outlined by the top US general in Iraq for the withdrawal of as many as 30,000 troops by next summer.
General David Petraeus said a 2,000-member Marine unit would return home this month without replacement in the first sizeable cut since a 2003 US-led invasion overthrew president Saddam Hussein and unleashed sectarian violence.
Further “force reductions will continue,” he told a nationally televised congressional hearing last night that was interrupted frequently by anti-war protesters.
Mr Petraeus’ long-awaited appearance at an unusual joint hearing of two congressional committees, was seen as a crucial to the US as it looks to the future of its troubled involvement in Iraq.
The President invited congressional leaders to a meeting today at the White House and is expected to make a nationwide speech on the war in the next few days. White House press secretary Tony Snow said Mr Bush will place a lot of weight on his general’s recommendations.
Mr Snow said Mr Bush “liked what he heard last week” when he was briefed on Petraeus’ plans.
“But he is commander-in-chief, and it will be up to him to make final determinations about what he will recommend,” the spokesman noted.
Petraeus is widely admired by Democrats and Republicans alike, and the White House has looked to him to give a boost to President George Bush’s Iraq policies at a time when his popularity is sagging, mostly because of his handling of the war.
Iraq has been a focal point of the November 2008 elections, with Democrats hoping to use opposition to the war to win control of the White House and expand their majorities in both chambers of Congress.
Democrats generally favour more and faster troop withdrawals. So far, Republicans have been generally willing to stick with Bush’s insistent argument against a withdrawal deadline, even though Bush’s handling of the war has become increasingly unpopular with Americans.
Petraeus said it would be “premature to make recommendations on the pace,” and he recommended that Mr Bush wait until next March to decide.
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said last night that the Iraqi government must overcome internal strife and civil war without the US military’s assistance.
She said: “Our troops who have performed heroically and have done everything they’ve been asked to do in Iraq have no business refereeing an Iraqi civil war,” the senator said during a fundraising swing through Florida.
“It is up to the Iraqis to make the decisions as to how they will stabilise their own country.”
Clinton said Americans should be worried about troop withdrawals, but added, “there are no good options.”
“I think we should be worried,” she said. “But I honestly believe that if the troops come out tomorrow, next year, five years or 10 years, because there is no military solution, if the Iraqis have not resolved their own internal problems, there is nothing we can do.”
“We need to get our troops home and let the Iraqi government take responsibility for themselves,” she added.
