Bush cuts U.S. combat troops tour length in Iraq

2008-07-31 14:09:15 GMT2008-07-31 22:09:15 (Beijing Time) Xinhua English

U.S. President George W. Bush makes a statement about U.S. military casualties in Iraq, outside of the Oval Office of White House in Washington, July 31, 2008. (Xinhua Photo)

WASHINGTON, July 31 (Xinhua) -- Touting "progress" in Iraq, U.S. President George W. Bush on Thursday cut the military tour length of U.S. combat troops there from 15 months to 12 months.

Speaking from the White House, Bush said he expects to hear a recommendation on troop levels in Iraq from David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq.

"This has been a month of encouraging news from Iraq, " he said.

"Violence is down to its lowest levels since the spring of 2004 and we are now in our third consecutive month with reduced violence levels holding steady," Bush added.

He also announced that starting Aug. 1, the duration of troop tours in Iraq will be cut from 15 months to 12 months.

Bush remains uncommitted to a timetable to withdraw troops from Iraq but has hinted that further reduction of troop levels is possible due to improved conditions there.

EMAIL | PRINT | RSS

Add Your Comments:

Please read our Terms of Service. Messages that harass, abuse or threaten others; have obscene or otherwise objectionable content; have spam, commercial or advertising content or links may be removed.