Bush expected to announce shorter combat tours today
Taking the advice of his top commander in Iraq, President Bush will not order additional troop drawdowns beyond July, leaving open the possibility that about 140,000 U.S. servicemen and women will still be in the war zone when the next president takes office.
In a 12- to 15-minute progress report, Bush on Thursday will announce shorter combat tours, but troops already in Iraq won't be going home any earlier, at least for now. Senior defense officials said Bush would order Army units heading to Iraq after Aug. 1 to serve 12-month tours rather than their current 15-month deployment — a move that war critics say the president had to make to ease strain on the Army.
Bush will deliver his speech in the Cross Hall of the White House, five years after the U.S. capture of Baghdad. His words will echo the congressional testimony by Gen. David Petraeus, the top commander in Iraq, and U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker.
Petraeus told Congress that it's too early to talk about future drawdowns because the situation in Iraq remains fragile, and that while security has improved and Iraqi forces are shouldering more of the fight against extremists, Iraq still could descend again into chaos.
In a 12- to 15-minute progress report, Bush on Thursday will announce shorter combat tours, but troops already in Iraq won't be going home any earlier, at least for now. Senior defense officials said Bush would order Army units heading to Iraq after Aug. 1 to serve 12-month tours rather than their current 15-month deployment — a move that war critics say the president had to make to ease strain on the Army.
Bush will deliver his speech in the Cross Hall of the White House, five years after the U.S. capture of Baghdad. His words will echo the congressional testimony by Gen. David Petraeus, the top commander in Iraq, and U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker.
Petraeus told Congress that it's too early to talk about future drawdowns because the situation in Iraq remains fragile, and that while security has improved and Iraqi forces are shouldering more of the fight against extremists, Iraq still could descend again into chaos.
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