Updated at 10:40 a.m., Monday, September 3, 2007
Progress in Iraqi province may mean less U.S. forces
Bloomberg News Service
Pres. George W. Bush said the progress being made in stabilizing Iraq's Anbar province may lead to a reduction of U.S. forces.
Bush, who made a surprise visit to Iraq today, said after meeting with Iraqi political leaders and U.S. military commanders that Iraqis living in the region west of Baghdad are taking more responsibility for their own security.
"If the kind of success we are seeing continues, it will be possible to maintain the same level of security with fewer American forces," Bush said at the al-Asad Air Base, where he spent about six hours.
Bush's trip to Iraq comes less than two weeks before he is scheduled to report to Congress on the war. Many lawmakers say they are growing increasingly impatient with the pace of progress in the conflict and the Iraqi government's ability to take more responsibility. They begin debating the president's strategy when they return to Washington this week.
The president appealed for Congress to hold off on any action to change the course of the war until they hear next week from Army General David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker, the two top American officials in Iraq.
"I urge members of both parties in Congress to listen to what they have to say," Bush said. "Congress shouldn't jump to conclusions."
Bush left Washington Sunday night in secrecy and arrived about 4:40 p.m. local time at the base in Anbar province west of Baghdad, an area that administration officials cite as a success for U.S. strategy. The president is on his way to an economic summit in Australia.
Important Decisions
"The president felt this is something he had to do in order to put himself in a position to make some important decisions," Bush's national security adviser, Stephen Hadley, told reporters aboard Air Force One as Bush traveled to Iraq.
Bush also was scheduled to give a speech to about 750 troops, capping a visit in which he meet with U.S. commanders, Maliki and other elected Iraqi officials, as well as Sunni tribal and provincial leaders. Local forces have taken the lead in battling terrorists affiliated with al-Qaeda in the predominantly Sunni province.
He also conferred with Army General David Petraeus and Iraq Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker, who will testify before Congress the week of Sept. 10.
Lawmakers have said the assessment will be crucial to determining whether Bush will be pressed to begin a withdrawal of the 164,000 U.S. troops in the country.
