Bush raises prospect of Iraq troop cuts

IRAQ: U.S. President George W. Bush raised the prospect of troop cuts in Iraq after meeting top commanders at a desert air base on Monday but said any reduction must be made from a position of strength.

Bush’s visit came days before his leading officials in Iraq deliver a pivotal assessment report to the Democrat-controlled Congress. He said deployment of 30,000 extra troops, decried by Democrat critics as a failure, had eased violence in some areas.

“Those decisions (on troop levels) will be based on a calm assessment by military commanders on conditions on the ground, not a nervous reaction by Washington politicians to poll results and the media,” he told hundreds of cheering Marines.

“When we begin to draw down troops in Iraq it will be from a position of strength and success, not from the position of fear and failure. To do otherwise would embolden our enemies and make it more likely that they would attack us at home.”

Bush flew into Iraq’s western Anbar province, choosing the former Sunni Arab insurgent stronghold once considered a lost cause to showcase what he said was one of the main success stories of his new military strategy.

He met U.S. commander General David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker to get his own assessment of how the troop increase was working ahead of their report to Congress on Sept. 10. U.S. commanders have said levels of violence are down but that more time is needed to consolidate their gains.

“General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker tell me 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 told reporters travelling with him.

Bush also held what he called “good, frank” talks with leaders of Iraq’s Shi’ite Muslim, Sunni Arab and Kurdish communities, including Shi’ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, who have made little progress towards national reconciliation. Bush urged the Iraqi government to “follow up” on what he termed progress on the security front. A major problem for the Shi’ite-led government is winning enough support from the Sunni minority, once dominant under Saddam Hussein, to end violence.

None of the laws viewed by Washington as vital to reconciliation have been passed by parliament, which returns after its summer break on Tuesday, and Maliki’s cabinet has been hit by the withdrawal of nearly half his ministers.

Bush said he took Maliki aside at one stage and told him: “‘You’re my friend and ... you’ve made progress in your recent meetings and now’s the time to get these laws passed. You’ve got hard work to do.’ and you know what? He understands that.” The president was accompanied by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and national security adviser Stephen Hadley. U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates arrived separately.

“This is very much the meeting of the war council,” Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said before Bush held his talks.

Meanwhile after a lightning visit to Iraq, U.S. President George W. Bush arrives in Australia on Tuesday where he can expect anti-Iraq war protests as he attends an Asia-Pacific leaders’ summit in Sydney.

The majority of Australians are opposed to the U.S.-led Iraq war, despite their government’s full support and Australian troops serving in Iraq.

Bush is due to arrive in Sydney on Tuesday night, a few hours after a “Stop Bush 2007” rally in front of the city’s main railway station.

Several protests are planned for the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation forum (APEC) week, culminating in a major march by the “Stop Bush Coalition” on Saturday, when the 21 Asia-Pacific leaders hold a summit at the Sydney Opera House. Police have refused to grant a march permit for Saturday’s demonstration and say they expect violent protests at APEC, launching the nation’s biggest ever security operation.

“Police will not tolerate unlawful, illegal or dangerous behaviour and we will take swift action. We cannot make it any clearer,” said police after agreeing to Tuesday’s rally.

Authorities have erected a 5-km (3-mile) security fence across the central business district to isolate the leaders in the Sydney Opera House and nearby hotels. A total of 5,000 police and troops are patrolling the city centre.

“We need to recognise that there will be many thousands of Australians peacefully protesting against Bush during APEC and they are in the majority,” said New South Wales Council for Civil Liberties president Cameron Murphy.

Al Asad Air Base, Tuesday, Reuters