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Bush Moves to Put Himself in a Position For Troop Drawdown
Preparing for their testimony before Congress, U.S. Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker and Army Gen. David H. Petraeus confer in Crocker's Baghdad office.
(By John Moore -- Getty Images)
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Bolten and other White House officials offered few clues about what Bush will say this week, saying they do not want to preempt the testimony of Petraeus and Crocker.
"He needs to take their recommendations, step back and put it in the broader context of why we are there, and talk more broadly about the U.S. presence in the Middle East," Bolten said.
Bush has appeared energized by the events of the past few weeks. Meeting with tribal leaders in Anbar province last Monday, the president even showed empathy when the sheiks complained about a lack of money from Baghdad, officials said. As governor of Texas, Bush said, he had asked for more federal funds from Washington -- and often did not get them, either.
Bush later traveled to Australia, where he told one politician, "We're kicking ass" in Iraq, according to media reports there. The White House did not disavow the statement.
Van Hollen noted that that was not the headline of the recent National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq, which was very pessimistic about the political future of Iraq. Bush's comment, he said, "reflects the fact that the president is really detached from any realistic view of what is going on."
But Bush said yesterday at Hawaii's Hickam Air Force Base that he "came back from Iraq encouraged by what I saw. No question there's still hard work to do, but my resolve is as strong as it's ever been."
The president added: "I believe we're doing the right thing there for the security of the country and for the peace of the world."
Staff writers Jonathan Weisman and Robin Wright contributed to this report.
