Bush To Outline Plans To Cut 30,000 Troops

Officials Say President Will Adopt Gen. Petraeus' Recommendations On Cuts By Next Summer

(CBS/AP)  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.

CBS News has learned that the White House has requested 15 to 20 minutes of network television time for this Thursday at 9 p.m. EDT.

In the speech, Mr. 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 Mr. Bush's speech is not yet final. Mr. Bush was practicing the speech and putting the final touches on it even as the U.S. commanding general, David Petraeus, and U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker were presenting their arguments 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 2008, roughly the same level that existed before Mr. Bush ordered the buildup early this year, the officials said. Now, there are 168,000 U.S. troops in Iraq.

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

The address will stake out a conciliatory tone toward Congress, but Mr. Bush will place more conditions on the pace of reductions to the pre-buildup level of 130,000 than Petraeus did.

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 Under the general's plan, another four brigades would be withdrawn by July 2008 - though he said it was premature to set the pace of that withdrawal.

That would leave the U.S. with about 130,000-135,000 troops in Iraq, although Petraeus was not precise about whether some of the several thousand support troops sent with extra combat forces would remain after July. A few thousand additional military police, for example, were sent to deal with extra detainees.

At the White House, Mr. Bush met Tuesday afternoon with House and Senate lawmakers of both parties and he publicly pledged to consider their views. “It's very important before I make up mind that I consult with leaders of the House and the Senate,” he said.

After meeting with the president, Democratic leaders were to huddle privately at the Capitol and discuss their options. Republicans too considered ways they could influence the debate, including legislation that would put Petraeus' plan into law.

In his speech, Mr. Bush will adopt Petraeus' call for more time to determine the pace and scale of withdrawals below 130,000 and offer to report to Congress in March about such plans, one official said.

As Petraeus and Crocker have, Mr. 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 U.S. withdrawal would be a catastrophe for Iraq and U.S. 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 U.S. 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.

Republican support for the Iraq war remains on shaky ground in Congress, epitomized by heated questioning of Petraeus Tuesday by GOP senators.

Petraeus, citing reams of statistics, calmly insisted the surge is working, reports CBS News correspondent Chip Reid.

"The level of security incidents has decreased significantly since the start of the surge of offensive operations in mid-June,” said Petraeus.

But 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 had anticipated that a larger number of Republicans by now would have turned against Mr. Bush on the war because of grim poll numbers and the upcoming 2008 elections.

[toldyouso21]

Impeach bush march on Sept 15 (Saturday) in Washington DC. Go to Impeachbush.org or sept.15.org--it is about more than impeaching Bush, it is finally doing more than blogging--a way to stand up, get off our butts and allow our numbers to speak for us.

Everyone should stand up--if for no other reason than it makes it harder for a fascist to put his boot on your neck. Good night

[toldyouso21]

You''d think Congress would have learned by now: Every time they give Bush power--he exploits it to the fullest and they think they can stop that big Raiders of the lost Ark stone from rolling downhill on top of us. He wanted authorization to use force--they gave it---he used it to start a war that cannot end.

he wanted to interrogate in questionable ways and detain people --they gave it to him, it extended to Americans eventually and to abuse by the FBI, CIA and homeland security.

he wanted a surge and said the results would show in the Spring. they gave it to him and the dates for proof got pushed further and further back.

He keeps abusing power, and they keep giving him more--every single one who voted to broaden the power of such a person is an idiot and just as culpable as Bush is.

he said is guy would be the impartial voice to determine if the surge is working...they said ok...classic, all they need to do now is work on their routine or smacking each other, running in circles and practice saying larry, mo and curly........

[skyk-2009]

There you go, Skyk, President Bush is the Fascist Libs'''' Hate Target...
When jobs improve, but housing drops, blame Bush.
When the Dow is up, but some guy doesn''''t have insurance, blame Bush.
When the US hasn''''t been attacked since 9-11, but Libs roll out NSA surveillance issues, blame Bush.
When tax revenues are at a 30 year high, but Libs want to raise taxes on the wealthy, blame Bush.
This could go on and on and on....
You guys just aren''''t worth it.
Posted by tcoleman12 at 10:26

FASCIST is RADICAL RIGHT wing man! You have to study the subject not just look for an opening like you fascist do. Bush started a war that did NOT have to be. He lied to me and to this nation and LIED about Bin Laden. You can''t change that no more than you can change the fact that the people in this nation NOW have the lowest standard of living in the industrialized World or that our national debt has doubled. When I visit that Wall where my friends names are I have to answer to they why I sat by and allowed yet another group of men to be sent off to die for NO REASON... maybe that''s easy for you to do, you fascist seldom have any honor, but for a Combat Vet and a Marine, it most certainly is.

[j-whitman]

The liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerate the growth of private power to a point where it comes stronger than their democratic state itself. That, in its essence, is fascism - ownership of government by an individual, by a group."
- Franklin D. Roosevelt

[hungry1968]

VICTORY IS AMERICAS ONLY CHOICE

Posted by screen_name_ at 09:27 PM : Sep 11, 2007



Define "victory" for me please.

[tcoleman12]

There you go, Skyk, President Bush is the Fascist Libs'' Hate Target...
When jobs improve, but housing drops, blame Bush.
When the Dow is up, but some guy doesn''t have insurance, blame Bush.
When the US hasn''t been attacked since 9-11, but Libs roll out NSA surveillance issues, blame Bush.
When tax revenues are at a 30 year high, but Libs want to raise taxes on the wealthy, blame Bush.
This could go on and on and on....
You guys just aren''t worth it.

[j-whitman]

"Our movement took a grip on cowardly Marxism and from it extracted the meaning of socialism. It also took from the cowardly middle-class parties their nationalism. Throwing both into the cauldron of our way of life there emerged, as clear as a crystal, the synthesis -- German National Socialism."
- Hermann Goering

[skyk-2009]

There you go, Skyk, President Bush is the Fascist Libs'''' Hate Target...
When jobs improve, but housing drops, blame Bush.
When the Dow is up, but some guy doesn''''t have insurance, blame Bush.
When the US hasn''''t been attacked since 9-11, but Libs roll out NSA surveillance issues, blame Bush.
When tax revenues are at a 30 year high, but Libs want to raise taxes on the wealthy, blame Bush.
This could go on and on and on....
You guys just aren''''t worth it.
Posted by tcoleman12 at 10:26

FASCIST is RADICAL RIGHT wing man! You have to study the subject not just look for an opening like you fascist do. Bush started a war that did NOT have to be. He lied to me and to this nation and LIED about Bin Laden. You can''t change that no more than you can change the fact that the people in this nation NOW have the lowest standard of living in the industrialized World or that our national debt has doubled. When I visit that Wall where my friends names are I have to answer to they why I sat by and allowed yet another group of men to be sent off to die for NO REASON... maybe that''s easy for you to do, you fascist seldom have any honor, but for a Combat Vet and a Marine, it most certainly is.

[j-whitman]

"When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross."
-- Sinclair Lewis,

[seven-pesos]

take a look at the demographics of fat people in america...

you''''ll see that the fattest people are in the south stretching from texas to west virginia...

take a look at the bible belt area of america...

it exactly overlaps the fattest states of america.

fat people and christian people...bush loving republican people!

nothing good comes out of the south.

[cbville72]

Yep 7 pesos is STILL a piece a $HIT

Thats the south and 7 pesos for you folks!

[cbville72]

Yep 7 pesos is STILL a piece a $HIT

Thats the south and 7 pesos for you folks!

[name_verify]

THANK YOU GENERAL

[name_verify]

THANK YOU GENERAL

[tcoleman12]

There you go, Skyk, President Bush is the Fascist Libs'' Hate Target...
When jobs improve, but housing drops, blame Bush.
When the Dow is up, but some guy doesn''t have insurance, blame Bush.
When the US hasn''t been attacked since 9-11, but Libs roll out NSA surveillance issues, blame Bush.
When tax revenues are at a 30 year high, but Libs want to raise taxes on the wealthy, blame Bush.
This could go on and on and on....
You guys just aren''t worth it.

[name_verify]

GOD BLESS THE USA

[tomflint69]

__________________________________________

WHAT DO YOU THINK? LEAVE COMMENTS ON FAMILY JEWELS VIDEO!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-5UfIu1zxs

_____________________________________________

__________________________________________

WHAT DO YOU THINK? LEAVE COMMENTS ON FAMILY JEWELS VIDEO!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-5UfIu1zxs

_____________________________________________

__________________________________________

WHAT DO YOU THINK? LEAVE COMMENTS ON FAMILY JEWELS VIDEO!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-5UfIu1zxs

_____________________________________________

__________________________________________

WHAT DO YOU THINK? LEAVE COMMENTS ON FAMILY JEWELS VIDEO!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-5UfIu1zxs

_____________________________________________

__________________________________________

WHAT DO YOU THINK? LEAVE COMMENTS ON FAMILY JEWELS VIDEO!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-5UfIu1zxs

_____________________________________________


__________________________________________

WHAT DO YOU THINK? LEAVE COMMENTS ON FAMILY JEWELS VIDEO!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-5UfIu1zxs

_____________________________________________

__________________________________________

WHAT DO YOU THINK? LEAVE COMMENTS ON FAMILY JEWELS VIDEO!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-5UfIu1zxs

_____________________________________________

[seven-pesos]

bush loving slave state south...

stretching from texas to the carolinas.

land of rednecks, reborns, war makers, hate, fat azzed, ignorant and phony christian creeps.

oh well, that''s the south for you folks!

[kansas1946]

"Are we going to continue to invest blood and treasure at the same rate we''re doing now? For what?" --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb
**********************
For "what" indeed, Mr. President?

[name_verify]

VICTORY IS AMERICAS ONLY CHOICE