WASHINGTON: US President George W. Bush yesterday held out the prospect of further troop reductions in Iraq later this year as he hailed a new “degree of durability” in security gains there. Seizing on the latest signs of progress on the ground, Bush delivered perhaps his most upbeat assessment since the early stages of the unpopular five-year-old war, now a central issue in the US election campaign to pick his successor.
“This has been a month of encouraging news from Iraq,” Bush said in a hastily arranged White House appearance. “Violence is down to its lowest level since the spring of 2004, and we’re now in our third consecutive month with reduced violence levels holding steady.”
He said commanding Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker had cautioned that the progress was still reversible but “they report that there now appears to be a degree of durability to the gains that we have made.”
Normally careful to avoid talk of troop withdrawal, Bush suggested he would be open to the idea if trends continue.
“Later this year, Gen. Petraeus will present me his recommendations on future troop levels — including further reductions in our combat forces as conditions permit,” Bush said.
Bush’s status report on the war came as US military deaths in Iraq fell sharply in July, with the monthly total likely to be the lowest since the US-led invasion of the country in 2003. Bush called the “increasing capability” of Iraq forces a key factor in the progress on the ground, and he declared that Al-Qaeda was “on the run” in the country. He also credited the “surge,” a buildup of US forces he ordered last year to stop Iraq from sliding into civil war.
Bush said progress was being made on a sensitive security pact with the Iraqi government, which would set terms for a US troop presence past the end of the year.
“We are close,” said Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman. But he told reporters that intensive negotiations had yet to lock in formal language for a strategic framework.
Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki has indicated a desire for some kind of timeframe for troop cuts. But Bush and other US officials have been more cautious and it was unclear whether the deal would specify any dates.
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama wants to shift the focus of US military efforts from Iraq to Afghanistan. He has pledged to withdraw troops from Iraq within 16 months of taking office in January, if he is elected.
