Bush Troop Reduction Plan Expected Next Week: Up To 8,000 Out Of Iraq By Mid-January

WASHINGTON — President Bush will announce his decision on future troops levels in Iraq next week and is expected to largely follow the recommendations of military leaders to reduce the number by up to 8,000 by mid-January.

The closely held plan forwarded by top Pentagon advisers calls for keeping 15 combat brigades in Iraq until the end of the year, according to senior defense officials. It would also send a small Marine contingent to Afghanistan in November to replace one of two units slated to head home then.

Bush is scheduled to make remarks Tuesday at the National Defense University in Washington. White House press secretary Dana Perino says he has been talking with his national security team and will be consulting with members of Congress about Iraq.

Under the Pentagon recommendations, one combat brigade _ numbering between 3,500 to 4,000 troops _ will leave Iraq after the first of the year and will not be replaced. In addition, at least one Marine battalion will leave and not be replaced, as well as a few thousand support forces, defense officials said.

Those forces could include military police officers and other support troops that went to Iraq over the past year to support the large military buildup ordered by Bush in early 2007 to quell the growing violence.

The new plan being reviewed by Bush may disappoint some Congress members and others who expected a larger, faster reduction of troops in Iraq, considering the significant downturn in violence. According to defense officials, violence has plunged by about 80 percent since last year's peak.

Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, delivered his recommendations to military leaders about two weeks ago. He had initially argued to maintain the current force levels in Iraq _ about 146,000 troops, including 15 combat brigades and thousands of support forces _ through June, according to defense officials.

Officials discussed details of the plan on condition of anonymity because Bush has not yet made a final decision.

"The question on the president's mind has been, 'How do we make sure that we cement those gains and not jeopardize those gains and be able to continue the process of return on success?'" said Perino.

If Bush adopts the recommendations, it would be left to the next president to execute further troop reductions in Iraq and a greater buildup in Afghanistan. Several more combat brigades are scheduled to leave Iraq during the first half of next year, and decisions must be made on whether or not to replace them.

Commanders have repeatedly asked for more troops in Afghanistan, where there has been a resurgence of the Taliban and a growth in violence.

Bush's term ends in January. Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama has advocated pulling all U.S. combat forces out of Iraq within 16 months of the new president taking office. GOP nominee John McCain has said he would rely on the advice of U.S. military commanders to determine the timing and pace of troop reductions. Both candidates have said more troops are needed in Afghanistan.

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Associated Press Writer Deb Riechmann contributed to this report.

Comments

[smuckingfart]

The reason Iraq is not in the news anymore is because we are winning. Remember before the surge about 60 soldiers were dying a month and it was all over the news everyday. Iraq has completely turned around and it is much safer, but good news is not news because it gets no ratings and it would prove Obama and the Democrats were wrong. Now the Anbar province has been turned over back to iraq and our soldiers had no weapons or bullet proof vests with them during the ceremony. Had we listend to Obama, we would have pulled out when Iraq was at its worst and they would have gone into a civil war. Obama was wrong about the surge and you cant convince the american people otherwise.

[PaHairO]

Couldn't see this coming or anything.

My gawd, the American people sure are gullible. Dubya is a transparently bad salesman ... and half of us STILL buy his bullshit. Incredible.

[imsosure]

I doubt it, Bush has made me more cynical that I ever thought possible.

[polaris12]

Haven't you noticed that when there is an election in the offing, we start to hear reports of troop reductions in Iraq and the price of gasoline starts to fall? Will the American people fall for it again?

[JShankel]

Bush is going to ignore the advice of Gen. Patraeus and appease the terrorists with an irresponsible, percipitious withdrawal?

[pbfishtaco]

Oh, Patreus!
We must follow him!
He is sage, wise, knows all, sees all!

[grata2ude]

Obama's plan at work. Thank you President Bush for finally listening to someone who knows what they are doing.

[proreality]

"It was a new tactic for targeting insurgent leaders and not the surge that led to the decrease in violence in Iraq" Bob Woodwards latest tell all. We love you man!

[polaris12]

And also, we started paying off (bribing) the very people who had previously been attacking us. It just goes to show that money works better than bullets.

[Bluesue]

I thought Bush always listened to Petraeus and Petraeus is recommending a delay.

Oh, right there's an election and McCain needs those troops to come out so he can declare "The surge worked, it worked my friends."

Sorry Petraeus but we have our priorities.

[Vote For America]

Senate GOP Sets Filibuster Record
http://voteforamerica.net/editorials/Comments.aspx?ArticleId=21&ArticleName=Senate+GOP+Sets+Filibuster+Record

[Mr Grey]

Hey, don't panic, we are all going to the gates of hell with John McSame!

[ChristiB]

They need the troops back so they can deploy them to Georgia and possibly Iran. Oh, and the bonus is they get to claim "victory" before the Nov election.

[nogimmicks]

The bottom line for the war profiteers is simple: more war at all times. So far it worked well for them since 2003. The plan now is simple, make Iraq and Afghanistan two connecting vessels (take a little or nothing from Iraq and add more to Afghanistan), possibly attack Iran. Also, inspire other wars, Georgia being a good example. These people buy things too. As far as McCain, .. he will crank up the war machine dramatically.

[rivrgrrl]

Oops.

This story is already outdated.

NBC news just reported that, forget this story, which they covered last night. Now the new plan by BetrayUs is to halt all withdrawals until at least the end of the year.

And as the military analyst for NBC said, this administration has limited influence and power as to what will happen with troop numbers, since there is only months left for them to implement anything. Outside of invading another country in the remaining months, I tend to agree with the man, for a change.

But that still leaves us the next few months to get through without Connecticut Cowboy starting another war.

A final thought: I find it very telling that the bulk of enlisted personnel's political contributions are going to Obama.

[DeeDeeDaGumby]

Connecticut Cowboy, rofl , I see you get it too, he lied about being from Texas. That always burned my butt. Then again claiming to be born in Conn, with a silver spoon in your mouth just doesn't get the same kind of votes does it?

[forpeace]

*

White House Refuses To Deny Spying On Iraqi Prime Minister

Q To follow up on that Dana, why are you not simply denying the allegations in Woodward"s book?

MS. PERINO: Why am I not denying what allegations?

Q Denying that there is " that spying "

MS. PERINO: I didn"t deny it. I said I declined to comment on it. And I will decline to comment on it.

http://thinkprogress.org/2008/09/05/perino-spying-maliki/

*

[AZM]

Republicans constantly boast that they alone can protect us from terrorists.
Do you remember how Reagan supporters used to boast that Reagan defeated the
Soviets by outspending them? Well, maybe Bush is the terrorist, because with 6.1%
unemployment (ignoring those who gave up looking for work, because they
have become discouraged), it may be the case that Bush is going to bring down
this great nation, by pissing away our resources in a meaningless war in some
God forsaken corner of the world. How ironic!