Report: Bush to offer plan for gradual drawdown of troops

Above: A Stryker soldier with the 2nd Infantry Division fills out claim paperwork to pay an Iraqi woman for a gate in her house that was breached in a night-time cordon and search operation last week.

The White House plans to use a report next month assessing progress in Iraq to outline a plan for gradual troop reductions beginning next year that would fall far short of the drawdown demanded by Congressional opponents of the war, according to administration and military officials.

One administration official made it clear that the goal of the planned announcement was to counter public pressure for a more rapid reduction and to try to win support for a plan that could keep American involvement in Iraq on “a sustainable footing” at least through the end of the Bush presidency...

Administration officials involved in drafting the new strategy said the White House intended to argue that the troop increase ordered by Mr. Bush had succeeded on several levels in providing more security, with fewer sectarian killings and suicide attacks, and had established the conditions for a new approach that would begin troop cuts in the first half of next year.

At the same time, the administration will use the occasion to argue that vital American interests in Iraq and across the Middle East require a sustained commitment of American forces and that any rapid withdrawal would be catastrophic for the United States and its regional allies.

Read the rest at the NY Times

Related Link:
Odierno: Commanders planning surge units to complete 15-month deployments; Last would leave August, 2008

Related Link:
Pentagon: Surge on through Spring 2008

Related Link:
Pentagon: Troop levels to reach all-time high of 171,000 as part of rotations

Related Link:
Petraeus: 'I think everyone understands that by about a year or so from now we've got to be a good bit smaller'

Related Link:
Casey: Army 'consumed with meeting the current demands' at expense of readiness, soldier well being

Related Link:
Expert: Phased withdrawal could be accomplished in a year, but 'U.S. could rush out in as little as a few weeks and no more than a few months'

Related Link:
Officials: Petraeus report to push for maintaining surge levels while reducing U.S. presence in some areas

Related Link:
General Cody: 15-month tours to apply to deployments through Summer, 2008

Related Link:
Army Withdrawal Study: Shias drive Sunnis out, Sunni factions fight in Anbar, Shia factions fight in south, Turkey fights PKK, Maliki depends on Iran

Related Link:
Report: New NIE will say Iraq in mature civil war, warns of coordinated attack on troops before September report

Related Link:
Report: Petraeus tells Congressional delegation the U.S. 'will be in Iraq in some way for 9 or 10 years'

Related Link:
U.S.: At least 8 months before Iraqis can begin to take over security in Ramadi

Related Link:
Commanders: Lack of equipment, air power hinder Iraqi takeover of security in Mosul

Related Link:
Joint Chiefs Nominee Mullen: 'I do think we will be there for years, not months'

Related Link:
Cheney: Petraeus' September report will announce 'significant progress'

Related Link:
Rice, Gates promise Arab leaders no 'precipitous' withdrawal from Iraq

Related Link:
Odierno: 'We need forces here for a few more years'

Related Link:
Petraeus: Substantial U.S. troop presence needed through mid-2009

Related Link:
Sources: U.S. increasing funding, support of armed civilian militias

Related Link:
General Dubik: Iraqi forces lacking experienced officers; Sectarianism still prevalent, but fighting is priority

Related Link:
Petraeus: September report to recommend continuing 'surge' through Summer 2008

Related Link:
Gaskin: Iraqi Army lacks logistics to remain battle ready

Related Link:
Iraqi Ambassador: U.S. dragging feet on equipping security forces

Related Link:
Reports: Petraeus-Crocker classified plan seeks 'sustainable security by the summer of 2009'

Related Link:
General Pittard: Handing over security control 'not a main priority'; At least 2 more years needed

Related Link:
Iraq National Security Advisor: Iraqi takeover of security won't meet goal

Related Link:
Quarterly Report: Iraq security effort lagging

Related Link:
General Lynch: Surge must last into summer of next year

Related Link:
General Gaskin: 2 more years needed to support Iraqi security forces

Related Link:
Odierno: Any quick change risks troop lives; says September report only preliminary; 'In order to do a good assessment I need at least until November'

Related Link:
Chairman of Joint Chiefs Pace: 'What I'm hearing now is a sea change' in Iraq security; Says Pentagon will present own recommendations in September

Related Link:
Chairman of Joint Chiefs Pace: Bigger troop buildup an option

Related Link:
Report: Internal White House debates raging over 'post-surge redeployment'; Gates pressing for pullback from Baghdad in 2008

Related Link:
Gates, Mixon: Withdrawal logistics could take years

Related Link:
Lynch: 'Surge' needs to last through Spring, 2008

Related Link:
Lynch: Not enough troops to maintain security

Related Link:
Chairman of Joint Chiefs Pace: Number of Iraqi battalions declines from 10 to 6, calls it a 'minor variation'

Related Link:
Marine Commandant Conway: Marine Corps resisting pressure to extend combat deployments

Related Link:
Army Chief of Staff Casey: Deployments may extend past 15 months

Related Link:
Petraeus: Expect insurgent 'sensational attacks' to 'grab the headlines to create a mini-Tet'; Says Sept. report will give 'implications' of 'options'

Related Link:
Lynch: Withdrawal of surge forces will escalate violence; 'It would be a mess'

Related Link:
Report: Gates seeks deal for 'long-term presence' in exchange for troop drawdown by 2009

Related Link:
Report: Bush Iraq exit plan calls for drawdown to 50-70,000 troops based away from cities, aided by carrier strike groups

Related Link:
Report: U.S. military has serious doubt in Iraq troops

Related Link:
Pittard: 'A couple of years' before Iraqis can provide full security

Related Link:
Petraeus: No foreseeable drawdown of troops; 'We have a lot of heavy lifting to do'

Related Link:
Troops denied month break

Related Link:
Report: Iraqi soldiers face Baghdad rotations of only 3 months

Related Link:
Congress, DoD spar over soldier testimony on Iraqi forces training

Related Link:
Bush signs Democrat-controlled Congress' $95 billion bill to fund the war with no restrictions through September

Related Link:
General Dempsey: U.S., Iraq to spend $14 billion for 40,000 new Iraqi soldiers

Related Link:
Pentagon extends tours to 15 months for all active-duty army troops in Iraq, Afghanistan; Guard, Reserve, Marines excepted