White House: Bush Considering Options on Troop Cuts in Iraq
By VOA News
04 September 2008
The White House says President Bush is considering his options on troop reductions in Iraq, after receiving recommendations from U.S. officials.
White House spokeswoman Dana Perino did not elaborate Thursday on where Mr. Bush stands on the reductions.
She said U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and the top U.S. military officer, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, may say more at a congressional hearing next week.
The top U.S. commander in Iraq says American combat troops could be withdrawn from Baghdad by next July if security gains hold.
In remarks published today in the "Financial Times" newspaper, General David Petraeus said such a pullout is possible, in his words, "conditions permitting." The U.S. military has about 16-thousand combat troops in Baghdad.
Petraeus said Iraq is a "dramatically changed country" from when he took command in February 2007. He said daily attacks in Baghdad have declined recently to less than five a day, in a city of seven million people.
Meanwhile, the U.S. military says two American soldiers were killed today after an explosive device detonated in eastern Baghdad. No other details have been released.
In other news, the U.S. military arrested an Iraqi cameraman and three of his family members today during a raid on their home in Baghdad. A military spokesman says the reporter -- identified as 28-year-old Omar Husham -- and his family members are suspected of belonging to a terrorist bombing network.
The arrests come after Tuesday's detention of a Reuters photographer also described as a possible security threat.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP.
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