Bush to Address Nation on Iraq Thursday
12 September 2007
Army General David Petraeus, the top U.S. military commander in Iraq, says there are no "magic switches to flip" to achieve reconciliation in Iraq.
General Petraeus, along with U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker, spoke to reporters Wednesday in Washington. Petraeus said reconciliation and restoration of services in Iraq is going to be a long, difficult, painful process. But he said there are indications that Iraqis have not only the ability but the will to achieve those goals.
He was not willing to make any predictions about how long U.S. forces would have to stay there.
President Bush is expected Thursday to publicly announce plans to withdraw 30,000 U.S troops from Iraq by the middle of 2008. The proposed withdrawal would reduce the U.S. presence to about 130,000 - the same as before the "surge" earlier this year aimed at reducing sectarian violence.
Congressional Democratic leaders have criticized Mr. Bush's plan. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Tuesday it is "an insult to the intelligence of the American people."
General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker testified before House and Senate committees earlier this week. General Petraeus says the troop increase has led to less violence in Iraq, but he and Crocker cautioned against a premature withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq.
Iraq's national security advisor Muwaffaq al-Rubaie told reporters Wednesday that the number of U.S. troops could be reduced to 100,000 by the end of 2008. He says it would depend on the security threat within and outside the country, and the readiness level of Iraqi security forces.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.
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