WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Responding to reports of possible troop reductions in Iraq, President Bush said Monday that the U.S. presence there will be determined by military commanders, the Iraqi government and "conditions on the ground."
Bush's remarks followed a New York Times report Sunday that Gen. George Casey, the top U.S. military commander in Iraq, plans to send home about 7,000 of the 127,000 American troops there by September without replacing them.
More than 20,000 additional troops would leave by the end of 2007, the Times reported, citing unnamed U.S. officials.
"In terms of our presence there, that decision will be made by Gen. Casey as well as the sovereign government of Iraq based upon conditions on the ground," Bush said in response to a reporter's question about the report.
Bush said Casey's recommendation would strive for victory, which the president defined as "a free government that is able to sustain itself, defend itself" and that "will be an ally in the war on terror. It's a government that will be able to fight off al Qaeda and its desires to have a safe haven."
In other words, as the Iraqis stand up, we will stand down. You have got to love how the Bush White House continues to spin the same tired, failed policy, with even more fancy political double-speak. Now instead of the Bush White House deciding when to pull the troops out, it is going to be up to the generals on the ground in Iraq who decide when to pull the troops out. Of course, did you notice the corollary to where the troops will be pulled out after Iraq is able to sustain itself, become an American ally, and fight off al Qaeda? That will never happen as long as Iraq continues to be embroiled in its own civil war between the three ethnic and religious groups that have divided this country.
But this makes great PR-spin. And it absolves the Bush White House from political consequences if pressure forces them to pull some troops out of Iraq. It is politics above policy, again.
2 comments:
It's always(!) politics over policy. That IS the policy!
Gary: You're right. It is always politics over policy--on every issue. The only time that policy trumps politics is when the said policy either benefits President Bush's ubber-rich elites, or when the policy benefits the salivating corporate interests, anxious to raid the U.S. Treasury for their tax breaks. I sometimes feel that I'm a parrot here--repeating the same arguments and same criticisms again and again. I guess this again shows the simplistic mindset of this Bush administration.
Disgusting.
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