President George W. Bush claims USA needs to preserve a large amount of troops in Iraq to let the war-torn country continue its revival. However, such a statement is overshadowed by discouraging developments on the security and political fronts.
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| George W. Bush in the Oval Office (AP) |
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 BREAKING NEWS |
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Twelve hours after Bush's televised address to the nation, the White House was to report that Iraqi leaders had gained almost no new ground in meeting U.S. benchmarks on bringing about reconciliation and stability. The report, which the White House sends to Congress, underscored the difficulty of Bush's argument that American sacrifice was creating space for political progress by Iraqis.
Other bad news hit 12 hours before Bush's speech, when Iraqi police reported the assassination in Anbar province of a prominent figure in a local alliance with U.S. troops against al-Qaida. It was a sharp blow to Bush's frequent celebration of military gains in that region as a model for the rest of the country.
In his 18-minute remarks Thursday night, the president ordered U.S. troop levels to drop to a point they were already slated to reach, while saying they would start seven months sooner than scheduled.
Bush said 5,700 U.S. forces would be home by Christmas instead of leaving Iraq beginning in the spring as originally planned. Four more combat brigades would pull out of Iraq as currently scheduled by July.
These troops comprise the troop buildup that Bush ordered in January that boosted U.S. troop strength to 168,000, the highest level of the war. Under the withdrawal plan, troop levels would drop back to around 130,000 by next summer, close to where they were before the buildup.
The president's speech marked only the latest shift in direction - and rationale and packaging - for a war that has lasted 4½ years and cost a half trillion dollars and nearly 3,800 American lives.
Bush's decision sets the stage for a fiery political debate in Congress and on the 2008 presidential campaign trail. Democrats said Bush's modest approach was unacceptable.
"The president failed to provide either a plan to successfully end the war or a convincing rationale to continue it," Sen. Jack Reed said in the Democrats' televised response.
Congress' majority Democrats pledged to push for a more dramatic reduction in troop levels, which Bush has rejected, and which they say the war-weary public demands, even though they still appear unable to muster enough votes to force an end to the war.
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