U.S. President George W. Bush, who was on a surprise visit to Iraq's western province of Anbar, said on Monday that U.S. troop cuts in the country is possible, the pan- Arab al-Jazeera TV reported.
Bush made the remarks after hearing from Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, and U.S. ambassador to Baghdad Ryan Crocker, who are to report to U.S. Congress on their assessment on the president's troop buildup strategy next week.
"General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker tell me if the kind of success we are now seeing continues, it is possible to maintain the same level of security with fewer American forces," Bush said.
But the president did not elaborate on the timing or scale of the possible cuts.
Speaking later about troop levels in an address to hundreds of cheering Marines, Bush clarified that the possible cutbacks was by no means the result of intense pressure at home, but "will be based on a calm assessment by our military commanders on the conditions on the ground."
It is "not a nervous reaction by Washington politicians to poll results in the media," he noted, adding "in other words, when we begin to draw down troops from Iraq it will be from a position of strength and success -- not from a position of fear and failure."
He also urged Congress to wait until they hear the reports from Crocker and Petraeus and see a White House progress assessment due by Sept. 15 before making any judgement on his decision of sending an additional 30,000 troops to Iraq.
Bush, joined by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and national security advisor Steven Hadley, landed in the al-Asad airbase in the volatile province of Anbar earlier in the day.
Bush met with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and other top government officials from Baghdad as well as local Sunni tribal leaders and members of Anbar's governing body, stressing that the United States would not abandon the Iraqi people.
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates also arrived to the war- torn country but he was travelling separately.
Source: Xinhua
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