Gen. David Petraeus, left, recommends, Bush announces.
by Mark Silva
President Bush today will announce a cutback in individual troop deployments in Iraq – cutting the limit on each deployment from 15 to 12 months starting in August – as he also announces a lull in overall troop withdrawals this summer to assess the situation.
“He is going to accept the recommendation of Gen. Petraeus — that we continue to draw down troops, going from 20 to 15 brigades,” Dana Perino, the White House press secretary, said this morning. That drawdown will end in July, and then the military will pause for 45 days to assess the situation before any further changes are made.
“The other thing that the president wills say today,” she said: Following last April’s announcement that many troop deployments would be extended to 15 months, they will be cut back to 12 months starting this summer. That means, starting with troops deployed on Aug. 1, no one will serve more than 12 months overseas and no home leave will be shorter than 12 months. Many troops already have served repeat deployments.
“We think that will start to help deal with the stress issues in regard to these deployments,” Perino said today.
The president will deliver his statement from the Cross Hall of the White House at 11:30 am EDT, before heading to his Crawford, Texas, ranch for the weekend.
Last fall, when Bush announced the start of a gradual drawdown of troops deployed with the “surge” that he ordered last year, he called it a “return on success.” Today, the White House was asked if the 45-day lull in draw-downs that Bush will announce following the withdrawal of those five brigades and also many Marine forces by July is an acknowledgement of something short of success..
“The return on success was based on the security improvements we have seen in Iraq,” Perino said. “We think that the right thing to do is continue on the return on success of troops coming home… and then have a brief period, 45 days…. To assess (the situation there). That’s the responsible thing to do.”
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