President Bush on Friday declined to endorse a prediction by Iraq’s new prime minister that Iraqi troops would replace the U.S. military as the nation’s primary security force by late 2007.
“Listen, I want our troops out, don’t get me wrong,” Bush said in an East Room news conference with British Prime Minister Tony Blair. “Politics isn’t going to make the decision as to the size of our force level; the conditions on the ground will make the decision.
Bush was referring to a statement by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki during a meeting Wednesday with Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen.
“Our security forces will be capable of taking over the security portfolio in all Iraqi provinces within one year and a half,” al-Maliki said.
Mr. Blair was more willing to entertain such a timetable.
“I think it’s possible for the Iraqi security forces to take control progressively of their country,” he said. “And I think it’s possible to happen in the way that Prime Minister Maliki said.”
Before the news conference, White House Press Secretary Tony Snow was openly skeptical of Maliki’s prediction.
“The prime minister is an elected official — he can say whatever he wants,” Snow said. “We’ll see if he’s able to follow through on it.”
The U.S. has about 133,000 troops in Iraq and would like to reduce that number to 100,000 by the end of this year. But the White House insists it will not guarantee any reductions until Iraqi security forces are able to take over.
“They stand up, we stand down,” Snow said. “These decisions rely on the actual conditions on the ground. It doesn’t matter what anybody can say in terms of blue sky; you got to figure out whether it’s possible.”
Bush said he might be willing to consider offering Iranian officials a package of “incentives,” but only if the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) certifies that Tehran has suspended its program to enrich uranium.
“If they suspend and have the IAEA in there making sure that the suspension is real, then of course we’ll talk about ways forward, incentives,” Bush said.
The president said he also regretted using tough language like “bring it on” and “dead or alive” when referring to the war on terror and Osama bin Laden, respectively. He said such rhetoric “sends the wrong signal.”
