US President George W. Bush’s announcement that he will withdraw some 21,500 soldiers from Iraq by mid-2008 drew angry fire from Democrats who said his plan amounted to an endless military commitment.
Rejecting calls for a swifter troop pullout, Bush told war-weary Americans in a televised address on Thursday that the troop “surge” strategy that he announced in January was working.
“Because of the measure of success we are seeing in Iraq, we can begin seeing troops come home,” Bush said. “The more successful we are, the more American troops can return home.”
Insisting the unpopular war can still be won, Bush said whoever succeeds him at the White House will likely inherit the conflict and warned against giving up on a fledgling ally that is “fighting for its survival.”
With most public opinion polls showing the US public two-to-one opposed to his strategy, and his Democratic foes clamoring for a withdrawal, Bush defiantly said he would build “an enduring relationship” with Iraq.
Iraqi leaders “understand that their success will require US political, economic, and security engagement that extends beyond my presidency,” said Bush, whose term ends in January 2009.
“These Iraqi leaders have asked for an enduring relationship with America. And we are ready to begin building that relationship in a way that protects our interests in the region and requires many fewer American troops,” he said.
The president said that he was following advice from the US commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, that he should bring some 5,700 troops home by Christmas and a total of 21,500 troops by mid-2008.
That would leave about 130,000 troops in Iraq, roughly the number in December 2006, one month before he escalated US force levels in a thus-far failed effort to give Iraq’s leaders room to reach key political compromises.
Bush also said he was not satisfied with the pace of Iraqi political reforms that Washington views as critical to forging national unity and quelling sectarian violence.
“The government has not met its own legislative benchmarks,” said Bush, who directed a message to Iraq’s people that “you must demand that your leaders make the tough choices needed to achieve reconciliation.”
The White House was to deliver a war progress report to Congress Friday.
He also warned that “efforts by Iran and Syria to undermine that government must end,” while predicting that “a free Iraq will counter the destructive ambitions of Iran,” which he accuses of trying to develop nuclear weapons.
The president’s plan came as the US Congress was poised to take up Democratic efforts to end the war and as presidential contenders faced tough questions on what they would do if elected in November 2008.
Democratic Senator Jack Reed, giving his party’s response, said it was “time to change course” and urged support for “a plan to responsibly and rapidly begin a reduction of our troops in Iraq.”
“An endless and unlimited military presence in Iraq is not an option,” Reed said.
Democrats lack the votes to set a timetable for ending the war, but hope to secure Republican support to limit the US role in Iraq to battling insurgents and Islamic militants, training the Iraqi army and protecting US personnel and installations.
They also hope to ensure that troops spend as much time at home as they do deployed in the war zone — an apparent bid to limit the numbers of troops available for deployment.
Democrats vying to succeed Bush swiftly criticized his announcement.
“I continue to implore the president to change course, bring our troops home faster, and end this war responsibly as soon as possible,” said Senator Hillary Clinton, the front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination.
Republican leaders defended the president’s strategy.
“Congress is faced with a stark choice: either rally behind the proven, responsible strategy set forth by General Petraeus and bring our troops home after victory, or demand an irresponsible, precipitous withdrawal that will force our troops to leave in defeat,” said House Republican minority leader John Boehner, who has just visited Iraq.
Bush’s announcement came after two days of testimony by Petraeus and the US ambassador in Baghdad, Ryan Crocker.
Petraeus acknowledged in testimony to lawmakers that the draw-down reflected the end of the surge, but White House officials have couched it as the natural response to “progress” in Iraq.
“We’ve got a long way to go. It’s very hard. We’re realistic about it,” Bush spokeswoman Dana Perino said.
[AFP]
