shevaub
09-09-2007, 09:45 AM
AMERICANS will learn about the next step in the Iraq war by the end of this week, when US President George Bush plans to spell out his future strategy.
But while a slight reduction of troops is possible from next January — White House officials say its top commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, is prepared to countenance a reduction of about 4000 troops as a show of goodwill — Mr Bush is expected to urge Americans to support a continuing surge.
In this watershed week on the future direction of the Iraq war, Congress will be briefed by General Petraeus and the US ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker, today and tomorrow.
The Administration hopes that the testimony of the two men will be seen as independent of the White House and carry more weight with Congress, even though the White House has been involved for several weeks in drafting the written report.
General Petraeus arrived quietly last Tuesday night with a small team that included his brains trust: three colonels, all Iraq veterans and PhDs.
He is staying at Fort Myer where he has been studying classified statistics, maps and analysis, before a rehearsal at the Pentagon yesterday.
His appearance is being compared to that of General William Westmoreland, who gave evidence to a joint meeting of Congress in April 1967 about the progress of the Vietnam War. At a time of deep public concern, General Westmoreland told Congress they were making progress.
General Petraeus' written report has been drafted by the White House, which has raised scepticism about its impartiality, but Congress also gets to hear directly from General Petraeus and Mr Crocker, and many members of the armed services committee are well briefed to ask probing questions.
After General Petraeus' testimony, the White House will hold consultations before making a public statement on the strategy. But most expect Mr Bush to urge continuation of the current approach and broad troop numbers because he will say that the strategy is working.
"After consulting with the Joint Chiefs of Staff, my national security team, members of Congress from both parties and Iraqi leaders, I will speak directly to the nation about the recommendations General Petraeus and ambassador Crocker have presented to me," Mr Bush said in his weekly radio address.
"I will discuss the changes our strategy has brought to Iraq. I will lay out a vision for future involvement in Iraq — one that I believe the American people and their elected leaders of both parties can support.
"By coming together on the way forward, we will strengthen Iraq's democracy, deal a blow to our enemies, secure interests in the Middle East and make our nation safer."
But the Democrat leader in the Senate, Harry Reid, said that although he believed General Petraeus was a good man, the report would be the President's.
"President Bush took final ownership of this when he landed in Anbar province just a few days ago," he said.
But while a slight reduction of troops is possible from next January — White House officials say its top commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, is prepared to countenance a reduction of about 4000 troops as a show of goodwill — Mr Bush is expected to urge Americans to support a continuing surge.
In this watershed week on the future direction of the Iraq war, Congress will be briefed by General Petraeus and the US ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker, today and tomorrow.
The Administration hopes that the testimony of the two men will be seen as independent of the White House and carry more weight with Congress, even though the White House has been involved for several weeks in drafting the written report.
General Petraeus arrived quietly last Tuesday night with a small team that included his brains trust: three colonels, all Iraq veterans and PhDs.
He is staying at Fort Myer where he has been studying classified statistics, maps and analysis, before a rehearsal at the Pentagon yesterday.
His appearance is being compared to that of General William Westmoreland, who gave evidence to a joint meeting of Congress in April 1967 about the progress of the Vietnam War. At a time of deep public concern, General Westmoreland told Congress they were making progress.
General Petraeus' written report has been drafted by the White House, which has raised scepticism about its impartiality, but Congress also gets to hear directly from General Petraeus and Mr Crocker, and many members of the armed services committee are well briefed to ask probing questions.
After General Petraeus' testimony, the White House will hold consultations before making a public statement on the strategy. But most expect Mr Bush to urge continuation of the current approach and broad troop numbers because he will say that the strategy is working.
"After consulting with the Joint Chiefs of Staff, my national security team, members of Congress from both parties and Iraqi leaders, I will speak directly to the nation about the recommendations General Petraeus and ambassador Crocker have presented to me," Mr Bush said in his weekly radio address.
"I will discuss the changes our strategy has brought to Iraq. I will lay out a vision for future involvement in Iraq — one that I believe the American people and their elected leaders of both parties can support.
"By coming together on the way forward, we will strengthen Iraq's democracy, deal a blow to our enemies, secure interests in the Middle East and make our nation safer."
But the Democrat leader in the Senate, Harry Reid, said that although he believed General Petraeus was a good man, the report would be the President's.
"President Bush took final ownership of this when he landed in Anbar province just a few days ago," he said.