In a morning speech Thursday outside the Oval Office, George W addressed the Iraq war, political and military advances made by the Iraqi government and shorter tours of duty. The International Herald Tribune published the full text of his speech.
“This has been a month of encouraging news from Iraq. Violence is down to its lowest level since the spring of 2004, and we’re now in our third consecutive month with reduced violence levels holding steady. General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker caution that the progress is still reversible, but they report that there now appears to be a ‘degree of durability’ to the gains we have made.
A significant reason for this sustained progress is the success of the surge. Another is the increasing capability of the Iraqi forces.”
Some media outlets are focusing on Bush's statement about the possibility of “reversible progress,” or that he did not specify on the topic of the security agreement with the Iraqi government. Bush did state that military tours in Iraq will be decreased from 15 months to 12, which I’m sure is good news for our troops. However, he only vaguely addressed a full withdrawal timeline, as usual.
