Success Starting In Iraq
Bush In Al Anbar: Some Troops Could Be Sent Home Soon As Success Continues
President Bush, after hearing from top U.S. and Iraqi leaders, said Monday that some U.S. troops could be sent home if security conditions across Iraq continue to improve as they have in this former hotbed of Sunni insurgency.
Bush spoke after hearing from Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commanderr in Iraq, and U.S. ambassador to Baghdad Ryan Crocker, who are testifying to Congress next week assessing the president’s troop buildup.
“Gen. Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker tell me if the kind of success we’re now seeing continues, it will be possible to maintain the same level of security with fewer American forces,†Bush said.
Bush stood in front of two Humvees near a dusty tarmac of this desert outpost in western Iraq, about 120 miles west of Baghdad, to share his latest views about the war. He urged Congress to wait until they hear testimony from Crocker and Petraeus and see a White House progress report due by Sept. 15 before judging the result of his decision to send an extra 30,000 troops to Iraq.
“I urge members of both parties in Congress to listen to what they have to say,†he said. “We shouldn’t jump to conclusions until the general and the ambassador report.â€
Bush met with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and other top government officials from Baghdad. He urged the government to respond to progress in Anbar where violence has abated after Sunni tribal leaders and former insurgents teamed up with U.S. troops to hunt down al-Qaida and other extremists.
He also met with Sunni tribal sheiks and members of Anbar’s governing body.
“I’m going to reassure them that America does not abandon our friends,†he said.