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Bush orders 8,000 troops home from Iraq by next Feb

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-09-09 23:49

WASHINGTON - US President George W. Bush said Tuesday that he plans to withdraw about 8,000 US troops from Iraq by next February and to send some 4,500 troops to Afghanistan next January.

President Bush announces plans to order 8,000 more combat and support troops out of Iraq by February, Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2008, during an address at the National Defense University at Ft. McNair in Washington. [Agencies]

In a speech at the National Defense University, Bush said that improving conditions in Iraq will allow a "quiet surge" of American troops to Afghanistan, where there has been a resurgence of the Taliban and a growth in violence.

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The troop cut -- smaller than many had expected due to a desire not to jeopardize recent security gains made in Iraq -- was probably his final major decision on the Iraq war.

Bush said he is making the move based on a recommendation from top military officers, including David Petraeus, the highest-ranking US military officer in Baghdad.

"Petraeus and the Joint Chiefs of Staff have recommended that we move forward with additional force reductions," the president said.

"Over the next several months, we will bring home about 3,400 combat support forces -- including aviation personnel, explosive ordnance teams, combat and construction engineers, military police, and logistical support forces. By November, we will bring home a Marine battalion that is now serving in Anbar province. And in February of 2009, another Army combat brigade will come home," he said.

"This amounts to about 8,000 additional American troops returning home without replacement. And if the progress in Iraq continues to hold, Petraeus and our military leaders believe additional reductions will be possible in the first half of 2009," Bush said.

But any further troops will be made by his successor, and Bush will be out of office by then.

"While the enemy in Iraq is still dangerous, we have seized the offensive, and Iraqi forces are becoming increasingly capable of leading and winning the fight," he added.

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