Encouraged by the death of a top terrorist leader and a new government in Iraq, US President George W. Bush was gathering his top military and civilian war advisers yesterday to plan the US role in the country's future.
The president planned two days of meetings at the mountainous Camp David presidential retreat, with national security advisers on hand and top commanders in Iraq connected by videoconference.
White House officials have said announcements of force reductions are not expected. Yet the top US commander in Baghdad predicted on the eve of the meeting that coalition troops will gradually move out of the country in the coming months.
General George Casey said he thinks it will be possible to withdraw some of the 130,000 US forces in the months ahead as long as Iraq's government and security forces make progress.
Casey would not say whether he planned to advise Bush on a troop reduction plan yesterday. But the general hinted the time soon may come for such a recommendation.
"I was waiting until we got a government seated before I gave the president another recommendation so we have some sense of what we've got," Casey said on Sunday on CBS' Face the Nation.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki took office last month and appointed the key final ministers last week.
Bush has said the new government marks a new chapter in the US relationship with Iraq. With Republicans worried about losing control of Congress in November's midterm elections and most Americans saying they would like some troops to come home, Bush is under pressure. Only a third of respondents to a poll early this month supported Bush's handling of the situation -- an all-time low.
But he has been careful not to signal any troop reductions yet, continuing to say he will make those decisions when commanders in the field advise him to do so.
Casey said reductions could be coming soon, albeit slowly.
"I think as long as the Iraqi security forces continue to progress and as long as this national unity government continues to operate that way and move the country forward, I think we're going to be able to see continued gradual reductions of coalition forces over the coming months and into next year," Casey said.
Iraq's national security adviser said on Sunday that he believed the number of coalition forces would drop below 100,000 by year's end. Mouwafak al-Rubaie also said the majority of coalition forces would leave before mid-2008.
Bush announced the Camp David meetings last week, as he applauded US forces for conducting an airstrike that killed Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq.
The re-evaluation of the administration's Iraq policy was due to start with a long day of meetings for Bush, his national security team and the military commanders. It was due to continue with a luncheon attended by outside experts and dinner last night.
Today, the sessions are due to conclude with a joint meeting via videoconference with Bush's Cabinet and top ministers in al-Maliki's new government.
Among the most immediate concerns is how to buttress security operations in and around Baghdad. Some suggest that could involve short-term troop increases
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