Say Anything Blog

A draw-down of surge troops to begin in mid-December and end next August at which point we’d make a decision as to what to do with the rest of the deployment which would be at a pre-surge level.

WASHINGTON, Sept. 9 — The top American commander in Iraq, Gen. David H. Petraeus, has recommended that decisions on the contentious issue of reducing the main body of the American troops in Iraq be put off for six months, American officials said Sunday.

General Petraeus, whose long-awaited testimony before Congress will begin Monday, has informed President Bush that troop cuts may begin in mid-December, with the withdrawal of one of the 20 American combat brigades in Iraq, about 4,000 troops. By August, the American force in Iraq would be down to 15 combat brigades, the force level before Mr. Bush’s troop reinforcement plan.

The precise timing of such reductions, which would leave about 130,000 troops in Iraq, could vary, depending on conditions in the country. But the general has also said that it is too soon to present recommendations on reducing American forces below that level because the situation in Iraq is in flux. He has suggested that he wait until March to outline proposals on that question.

This is exactly the sort of “phased withdrawal” Democrats have been talking about for a while.  It is an eminently reasonable compromise between the Democrats, who want to get as many troops as possible out of Iraq, and Republicans who want to see the mission carried through.

But how much do you want to bet the Democrats will find this unacceptable, and will be moving the goal posts on their past calls for “phased withdrawal?”