WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush on Tuesday will announce plans to withdraw about 8,000 American troops from Iraq by February 2009 and deploy soldiers to Afghanistan where violence has been surging.
Bush, who has seen his job approval rating sink to recordlows because of the prolonged wars, has repeatedly said hewould only withdraw troops from Iraq if his military advisersrecommended it based on security conditions in the war zone.
"While the progress in Iraq is still fragile andreversible, Gen. (David) Petraeus and Ambassador (Ryan) Crockerreport that there now appears to be a 'degree of durability' tothe gains we have made," Bush plans to say at the NationalDefence University, according to remarks released on Monday bythe White House.
He will say some 3,400 combat support troops would leaveIraq over the coming months along with a Marine battalion byNovember. Another one of the 15 Army combat brigades will leavein February, Bush plans to say.
"And if the progress in Iraq continues to hold, Gen.Petraeus and our military leaders believe additional reductionswill be possible in the first half of 2009," according to thespeech.
Bush will say he plans to send additional U.S. troops toAfghanistan in the coming months, as attacks by al Qaeda andTaliban militants have increased there.
"In November, a Marine battalion that was scheduled todeploy to Iraq will instead deploy to Afghanistan," accordingto the speech text. "It will be followed in January by an Armycombat brigade."
There are 146,000 U.S. troops in Iraq and 33,000 inAfghanistan.
Any large-scale shift in U.S. forces in those war zoneswill be left to Bush's successor -- either Republican Sen. JohnMcCain or Democratic Sen. Barack Obama. Bush leaves office inJanuary 2009.
(Reporting by Jeremy Pelofsky; Editing by Kristin Roberts)
