WASHINGTON, Mar. 1, 2008
Top General To Ask For Pause In Drawdown
Official Says Petraeus Wants "Period Of Assessment" To Study Effects Of Troop Cuts
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Gen. David Petraeus, the top commander for U.S. troops in Iraq, appears at a graduation ceremony for 700 Iraqi National Police cadets in Baghdad, Iraq, on Dec. 18, 2007. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)
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Photo Essay Scrutinizing The Surge Commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, U.S. ambassador testify before Congress.
Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker are due to return to Washington from Baghdad in April to report to Congress on how the war-fighting strategy is working and how to proceed on troop-level decisions. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to more freely describe administration thinking, said their testimony would come April 8-9.
Petraeus has talked in recent weeks about favoring a "period of assessment" after the currently planned troop withdrawals conclude in mid-July. He has said a pause seems necessary to give a clearer indication of the impact of those troop cuts - on the insurgency and other local conditions - before recommending any more.
The official, who briefed reporters at the White House, said Petraeus will recommend in his April report that the pause last for "four to six weeks-ish." That would mean a new assessment of troop levels wouldn't come until mid-August or even sometime in September.
A suspension is based on the notion that continuing reductions beyond July at the currently planned pace could lead to an erosion in the still-fragile security gains made over the last several months.
Despite that, the official said that "this is not a stall tactic" meant to delay or end hopes of bringing more troops home from Iraq. "I fully expect there to be more reductions this year - and so does the president," the official said.
The official was careful to note, however, that reductions might only be announced in 2008, with many or all of them possibly not leaving Iraq until later.
Also, the pause would be Bush's decision to make - not Petraeus'.
Petraeus' recommendation is only one piece of the puzzle the president will consider in April. Though he has always said that the advice of the commanders in the field is the driving force behind his decisions, Bush takes into account the views of others, such as the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who are responsible for maintaining the health of the entire armed forces, and regional commanders, who must weigh the need for forces in other parts of the world.
Bush will participate in about two weeks of briefings from all involved before Petraeus and Crocker testify on Capitol Hill, the official said.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates has said recently that he also favors a suspension in the drawdown, after hoping earlier that the second half of the year could take the U.S. presence in Iraq to around 10 brigades.
On Thursday, Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said it was unclear how long the president might choose to wait after July before resuming troop reductions.
"We don't know how long the pause is going to" last, Mullen told reporters at the Pentagon. He noted that when Gates endorsed the concept of a pause on Feb. 11 he said he hoped it would be brief.
Mullen has emphasized that the question of when to resume troop reductions, after July, is closely related to the Pentagon's efforts to strike a balance between maintaining momentum in Iraq and providing relief for troops and their families.
Mullen has declined to say publicly whether he favors even a brief suspension of troop reductions after July. Led by Mullen, the Joint Chiefs of Staff are studying the issue of troop levels in Iraq while taking into account other global commitments of the U.S. military, including the war in Afghanistan.
There currently are about 158,000 U.S. troops in Iraq. Last January, on Bush's order, the military began sending an additional five Army brigades to Iraq to help implement a new approach to countering the insurgency.
The last of the five extra brigades arrived in June, raising the total number of brigades in Iraq to 20. In line with a plan recommended by Petraeus and approved by Bush last September, the number of brigades fell to 19 in December and is scheduled to drop to 18 in March. It would reach 15 by July, representing a troop total of about 140,000.
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Best-selling author Mitch Albom on his first nonfiction work since "Tuesdays with Morrie."
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See all 63 CommentsPosted by gkc99 at 01:21 PM : Mar 01, 2008
As of January 1st 2008, the IBC total for violent civilian deaths to the end of 2007 is 81,174%u201388,585 (including our preliminary figure of 902 for December 2007)
http://www.iraqbodycount.org/analysis/numbers/2007/
So, our soldiers that died will have died for nothing if we let this war turn into a blood bath of genocide in Iraq, and you think this is good?
yes we would agree with this if it was bush,cheney,rice,rumsfeld,rove
THEY ARE GOING TO HOLD OFF THE ROTATION BECAUSE THEY KNOW WHAT HAPPENS RIGHT AFTER A MAJOR ROTATION.
What are we going to win??
No, 3900 lost their lives due to the greed and dishonesty of your hero, George Bushit, and the puppeteers who control Howdy Doody. Get real. You don''t honor victims of Neoconscum stupidity and venality by murdering more!
These Neoconscum must go to Madison Avenue for their terms--a "pause" in the "drawdown"--translation: don''t even think of withdrawing any US troops.
to be completed so it can take over America''s
number one ''Lie-Dispenser'' title.
To transfer America''s number one ''Joke'' title
he''ll have to wait for historians to come up
with his ''positive'' deed legacy
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Posted by mbcsmith at 12:18 PM : Mar 01, 2008
We don''t have to surrender. The war was over six weeks after we entered the country! Mission accomplished!
We won''t be surrendering. We will be turning that country over to the people whom it belongs to! We''ve handed them their freedom. It''s time they owned it!
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Posted by RowdyTexan2 at 11:58 AM : Mar 01, 2008
I absolutely care. See my post below.
You mean "facts"? What''s your point. I say 3900 brave military servicemen have lost their lives in this effort and it would be a slap in their face and that of their families if Obama/Clinton surrender now.
You are wrong, Sir! Our troops are doing the very best they can under incompetent leadership! There are no flies at all on our troops! They are standing their ground in a world gone completely mad!
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Posted by RowdyTexan2 at 12:07 PM : Mar 01, 2008
As I said, the U.S. military is making progress, let them finish the job. NO SURRENDER, NO OBAMA/CLINTON!
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Posted by mbcsmith at 11:55 AM : Mar 01, 2008
You are wrong, Sir! Our troops are doing the very best they can under incompetent leadership! There are no flies at all on our troops! They are standing their ground in a world gone completely mad!
Posted by mbcsmith at 11:55 AM : Mar 01, 2008
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A trillion dollar war based on lies and fabricated evidence is progress?
Can''t bring the troops home or even draw the numbers down to invasion level is progress?
5000 dead and 1.1 million dead Iraqis is progress?
You are a moron and paid propaganda shill that sits here working for the Israeli mossad everyday. O.K., you can switch to your next user name now creep. Such as hillory08, notblue, etc.
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Posted by tulcak at 11:51 AM : Mar 01, 2008
Yes, Sir!
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Posted by mbcsmith at 11:55 AM : Mar 01, 2008
Screw politics, Sir! We''re talking about people''s lives! Have you absolutely no care that people are dying for a bunch of corrupt and idiotic ideology?
The Bush family still manages the Bin Laden fortune through the Carlyle Group (SBIF - Saudi Bin Laden Investment Fund)
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Posted by mbcsmith at 11:46 AM : Mar 01, 2008
No Sir. You are in fact an enemy of this country if you will buy into the lies the Neocons are telling you!
Military Fatalities: By Time Period
Period US UK Other* Total Avg Days
6 887 44 9 940 2.39 394
5 933 32 20 985 2.39 412
4 715 13 18 746 2.35 318
3 580 25 27 632 2.93 216
2 718 27 59 804 1.9 424
1 140 33 173 4.02 43
Total 3973 174 133 4280 2.37 1807
To View Period Details Click The Period Number
Time Periods Defined
U.S. Deaths Confirmed By The DoD: 3972
Reported U.S. Deaths Pending DoD Confirmation: 1
Total 3973
DoD Confirmation List
Latest Coalition Fatality: Feb 25, 2008
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Posted by tulcak at 11:51 AM : Mar 01, 2008
LIBS just don''t get it. The U.S. military has made great progress and the LIBS just can''t stand it. What''s good for America is bad for LIBS politically, so they just keep rooting against our soldiers and HOPE FOR THE WORST.
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