In Speech, President Will Outline Plans For Troop Withdrawals And Plead For Support From Congress

(CBS/AP) Rejecting calls to leave Iraq, President Bush will approve gradual troop reductions from their highest level of the war Thursday in his speech to the nation from the Oval Office.

According to advance excerpts from a major televised White House address to the U.S., Mr. Bush will argue that "the more successful we are, the more American troops can return home."

The president will announce that he has accepted the recommendations of Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. 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.

About 168,000 U.S. troops are in Iraq now. The president's order is intended to bring that number to around 132,000 - about where it was when Mr. Bush announced a major buildup last Jan. 10.

Petraeus' recommendations "basically gave Republicans who are still with the president on this … a reason to stay with the president," said CBS News chief Washington correspondent Bob Schieffer.

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CBS News will broadcast Mr. Bush's speech beginning at 9 p.m. ET. CBSNews.com will have a live webcast of the speech.

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With no dramatic change in course, Mr. Bush's decision sets the stage for a fiery political debate in Congress and on the 2008 presidential campaign trail.

White House officials acknowledged that questions about troop levels and strategy in Iraq will await the next president. Mr. Bush's term ends in January 2009.

The 18-minute prime-time speech amounts to one more presidential plea for patience from a war-weary nation. According to transcripts, Mr. Bush plans to say that "the success of a free Iraq is critical to the security of the United States."

The president's speech is also a plea to Congress for more time for the U.S. to achieve its objectives in Iraq.

"Let us come together on a policy of strength in the Middle East," the transcript reads, "I thank you for providing crucial funds and resources for our military. And I ask you to join me in supporting the recommendations General Petraeus has made, and the troop levels he has asked for."

Majority Democrats in Congress are thus far unable to muster enough votes to set deadlines for ending the war. So they are hoping to win Republican support with legislation to limit the mission of U.S. forces to training Iraq's military and police, protecting U.S. assets and fighting terrorists.

"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."

Despite prodding from Washington, the government in Baghdad has failed to meet many goals for political reconciliation and security. A new assessment to be released Friday by the White House will acknowledge that.

The White House said the conclusions would mirror those in the most recent report, from July, that Iraq had made unsatisfactory progress on nine benchmarks and satisfactory progress on eight others.

The administration has sought to play down the importance of those benchmarks. Though initially agreed to by Mr. Bush and required to be the focus of the latest report, the White House now regards them as offering an unrealistic or incomplete look at the situation.

Reporting from a preview of tonight's speech, hosted by the president and vice president at the White House on Thursday, CBS Evening News Anchor Katie Couric said President Bush described Nouri al-Maliki as being a "work in progress" and told reporters that the embattled Iraqi prime minister had stepped up to the place more recently, though his ability to reach across party lines is still suspect.

On Friday, Mr. Bush planned to reinforce his message in a visit to the Marine base in Quantico, Va., just outside Washington.