Bush Listens as Military Expresses Views on Troop Stain of Prolonged War in Iraq and Afghanistan
Wrapping up a series of consultations on Iraq, President Bush met at the Pentagon on Wednesday with the military’s leaders to hear their views on prospects for further troop reductions.
Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell said the president spent about 90 minutes in a closed session with the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Bush was accompanied by chief of staff Joshua Bolten, national security adviser Stephen Hadley and Vice President Dick Cheney.
Much of the meeting concerned the strains on the force and the effect that waging two wars has had on the military, Morrell said. The session was led by Navy Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs. He was presenting the consensus view of the chiefs of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps.
It was the last in a series of consultations by Bush and commanders in advance of the president’s decision on how to proceed in Iraq as U.S. troop levels are declining.
On Monday, Bush heard from Adm. William Fallon, the U.S. Central Command chief who is relinquishing his post on Friday, and from Gen. David Petraeus, the commander in Iraq. Bush also heard Tuesday from Defense Secretary Robert Gates.
After Petraeus presents his progress report to Congress in early April, Bush is expected to embrace the commander’s desire for a temporary halt in troop withdrawals beyond those already scheduled.
There are now 156,000 troops in Iraq. That number is scheduled to drop to about 140,000 by the end of July. Petraeus, with support from Gates, has said he would like to halt the reductions at that point for a period of “consolidation and evaluation.”
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