Bush faces mounting pressure on Iraq draw down
Sunday, 26 August 2007
CRAWFORD, (Texas), Aug 25 (AFP): President George W. Bush, lawmakers, members of the US military and veterans were locked Saturday in an escalating political war of words over whether to reduce US troop levels in Iraq.
With just weeks before a key September 15 progress report on the unpopular war, Bush faced mounting pressure to announce that he would bring home at least some of the roughly 160,000 US troops in Iraq.
A grim formal report from the 16 US intelligence agencies found that Iraq's political leaders are "unable to govern" effectively but warned that a draw down of US forces could dramatically increase sectarian violence.
Bush's Democratic critics have redoubled their calls for him to pull US forces out of Iraq, while he has accused his political foes of wanting to "pull the rug out" from under US troops on the front lines.
And the White House has set the emotionally loaded date of September 11 for the top US commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, and the US ambassador in Baghdad, Ryan Crocker, to testify to Congress about the war.
The outgoing chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Peter Pace, denied a report that he was poised to urge Bush to cut US force levels in Iraq by nearly half next year to ease the strain the war has placed on the military.
The Los Angeles Times, citing administration and military officials, said Pace was likely to advise Bush that maintaining more than 100,000 of the 162,000 troops in Iraq through 2008 would place severe strains on the military.
Such a recommendation, which the Times said would be offered privately, would highlight differences within the military and the government over Iraq, eight months after Bush's "surge" policy boosted troop levels by 30,000.
"The story is wrong. It is speculative. I have not made nor decided on any recommendation yet," Pace, who steps down in September, said in a statement.
In an earlier statement, the general said: "The Joint Chiefs and I always review a wide range of options on any issue."
"I take very seriously my duty to provide the best military advice to the president. I provide that advice privately to the president."
White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe predicted a media feeding frenzy "about what different people are recommending, what they're not recommending-more troops, less troops, stay the same."
With just weeks before a key September 15 progress report on the unpopular war, Bush faced mounting pressure to announce that he would bring home at least some of the roughly 160,000 US troops in Iraq.
A grim formal report from the 16 US intelligence agencies found that Iraq's political leaders are "unable to govern" effectively but warned that a draw down of US forces could dramatically increase sectarian violence.
Bush's Democratic critics have redoubled their calls for him to pull US forces out of Iraq, while he has accused his political foes of wanting to "pull the rug out" from under US troops on the front lines.
And the White House has set the emotionally loaded date of September 11 for the top US commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, and the US ambassador in Baghdad, Ryan Crocker, to testify to Congress about the war.
The outgoing chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Peter Pace, denied a report that he was poised to urge Bush to cut US force levels in Iraq by nearly half next year to ease the strain the war has placed on the military.
The Los Angeles Times, citing administration and military officials, said Pace was likely to advise Bush that maintaining more than 100,000 of the 162,000 troops in Iraq through 2008 would place severe strains on the military.
Such a recommendation, which the Times said would be offered privately, would highlight differences within the military and the government over Iraq, eight months after Bush's "surge" policy boosted troop levels by 30,000.
"The story is wrong. It is speculative. I have not made nor decided on any recommendation yet," Pace, who steps down in September, said in a statement.
In an earlier statement, the general said: "The Joint Chiefs and I always review a wide range of options on any issue."
"I take very seriously my duty to provide the best military advice to the president. I provide that advice privately to the president."
White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe predicted a media feeding frenzy "about what different people are recommending, what they're not recommending-more troops, less troops, stay the same."