Bush: troops withdrawal from Iraq depends on conditions

Source: Xinhua | 01-12-2008 16:46

KUWAIT CITY, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President George W. Bush said Saturday that the presence of U.S. troops in Iraq has improved security in Iraq embracing "significantly reduced" violence and further troops withdrawal depends on conditions on the ground.

U.S. President George W. Bush (R) is greeted by  Kuwait's Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah at  a welcoming ceremony at Kuwait International Airport, Jan. 11, 2008. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

At the U.S. military base of Camp Arifjan in Kuwait, Bush said that no decision has been made on bringing more U.S. troops home from Iraq, according to local media reports.

He reaffirmed his stance that reduced force levels will depend on conditions in Iraq and asked Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, to make the decision.

Gen. Petraeus and U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker are scheduled to make a recommendation to Congress in March.

"My attitude is if he (Gen. Petraeus) didn't want to continue the draw down, that's fine with me," Bush said.

"The only thing I can tell you is we're on track for what we've said was going to happen," he said, referring to plans to withdraw some 30,000 troops from Iraq by July.

After the report of Petraeus and Crocker to Congress in September, Bush announced the partial troops withdrawal from Iraq by July.

Bush, who arrived in Kuwait on the first leg of a four-nation Gulf tour after Israel and the Palestinian territories, met with Petraeus and Crocker at Camp Arifjan, which serves as a staging ground for forces deploying to Iraq.

Editor:Zhang Pengfei