Bush won't order new Iraq troop drawdowns

updated 7:46 p.m. ET April 10, 2008

An early version of this story from The Associated Press incorrectly said that President Bush’s decision to cut the length of combat tours in Iraq applied to troops already in the country. The decision applies only to tours beginning Aug. 1 or later.

WASHINGTON - President Bush on Thursday ordered a halt in troop withdrawals from Iraq after July but cut the length of tours of duty, as he defended a war policy that will leave any resolution of the conflict to his successor.

In a speech timed to the fifth anniversary of the fall of Baghdad, Bush endorsed Gen. David Petraeus' advice of completing a limited withdrawal of combat troops by July but then impose a 45-day freeze before considering more possible cuts. “He'll have all the time he needs,” Bush said of his top commander in Iraq.

That virtually guarantees that more than 100,000 servicemen and women will still be in the war zone when the next president takes office next January.

Seeking to relieve the heavy strain on the Army, the president also reduced the length of combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan to 12 months, down from the current level of 15 months. He said the change would take effect on Aug. 1, and would not affect U.S. forces already deployed on the front lines.

Bush said U.S. forces have made major gains since he ordered a buildup of about 30,000 U.S. forces last year. “We have renewed and revived the prospect of success” the president said.

Bush delivered his remarks in the Cross Hall of the White House before an audience of veterans’ service groups and Vice President Dick Cheney, Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

The president’s decision had been foreshadowed by two days of testimony before a skeptical Congress by Petraeus and Ryan Crocker, the U.S. ambassador to Baghdad. Now in its sixth year, the war has claimed the lives of more than 4,000 U.S. troops and cost more than $500 billion.

Iraq and the sagging economy have taken a heavy toll on the public’s view of Bush. A new Associated Press-Ipsos poll released Thursday found that his job approval rating has fallen to just 28 percent, a new low.

Bush said the United States would proceed with planned drawdowns of U.S. forces, bringing home about 20,000 of the 30,000 troops he sent to Iraq last year to combat sectarian violence. The additional troops were also intended to help restore basic security and provide a sense of calm to allow Iraqi leaders to attempt to achieve political reconciliation.

“Some have suggested that this period of evaluation will be a pause,” Bush said. “That’s misleading, because none of our operations in Iraq will be on hold. Instead we will use the months ahead to take advantage of the opportunities created by the surge and continue operations across the board.”

While acknowledging that “serious and complex problems remain in Iraq,” Bush said that “a major strategic shift” has occurred since the buildup.

“Today we have the initiative,” the president said.

Democrats respond
At a Capitol Hill news conference, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Bush’s announcement on reducing combat tours was long overdue but that keeping troops committed to Iraq was unacceptable.

Video   Democrats respond April 10: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi respond to President Bush's speech. MSNBC

Bush’s speech “can only be described as one step forward and two steps back,” Reid said.

Pelosi, D-Calif., said Bush failed to answer key questions including what conditions would allow troops to come home and the impact on U.S. ground forces.

“We need real answers from the commander-in-chief and the president of the United States,” she said.

Reid, D-Nev., said the Senate would vote soon on legislation demanding that troops spend as much time at home as they spend in combat. Similar proposals have failed in the past, and Bush would likely veto such a measure because it would reduce the military’s flexibility.

When asked to respond to Bush’s challenge of a veto on the upcoming war spending bill if Democrats add a timetable for troop withdrawals, Reid said he couldn’t help but smile because the threat was nothing new.

“We have a plan, and we will execute it, despite the president,” he said.

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