White House Torture Advisers

The Troop Rotations

Bush formally announced that, after increasing Army combat tours in Iraq to 15 months to support last year's troop buildup, he will now return them to 12 months. But troops already in Iraq won't be going home any earlier. Also, it's not clear Bush had any choice in the rotation decision.

Peter Baker and Jonathan Weisman write in The Washington Post: "The move is in response to intense pressure from service commanders who have expressed anxiety about the toll of long deployments on their soldiers and, more broadly, about the U.S. military's ability to confront unanticipated threats. . . .

"Bush's decision will affect only those troops sent to Iraq as of Aug. 1 or later, meaning that those already there still have to complete their 15-month tours. Bobby Muller, president of Veterans for America, an advocacy group, said that nearly half of the Army's active-duty frontline units are currently deployed for 15 months, and that Bush's decision leaves them out.

"'In short, this is a hollow announcement; it has no immediate effect,' Muller said. 'It is nothing more than political posturing at the expense of our troops. Our soldiers are unraveling and they need their commander in chief to provide immediate relief.'

"House Armed Services Chairman Ike Skelton (D-Mo.) applauded Bush's move. 'But it only resets us to where we were last winter,' he added. 'This pace will still wear our troops out.' Ilan Goldenberg, a scholar at the National Security Network, said on a conference call organized by antiwar activists that Bush cannot portray the move as a sign of progress. 'The military is so strained, the president really didn't have a choice,' he said."

After his remarks, Bush headed to his Texas home for a long weekend.

A Democratic Response

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said on the Senate floor yesterday: "President Bush clings to his talking points that the surge has worked. But he called his plan a 'return on success' -- meaning that if the surge worked, our troops could return home. If we have the success he claims, where is the return? We are stuck in a twilight zone in Iraq.

"When violence is up, the President says we cannot bring our troops home. When violence dips, the President says we cannot bring our troops home.

"It's long past time for the President to be honest with the American people: Under what circumstances could our troops come home? Under what scenario could this war end?

"Based on everything we have heard, we can reach only one conclusion: With 160,000 courageous American troops serving in Iraq, President Bush has an exit strategy for just one man -- himself -- on January 20th, 2009."

Legacy Watch

Michael Abramowitz and Karen DeYoung write in The Washington Post: "In deciding to leave behind a large presence of U.S. forces in Iraq at the end of his term, President Bush has made clear that he believes he will be doing the next president a favor, with more troops boosting the chances that his successor will inherit a more stable country.

"But many leading Democrats -- and even some Republicans -- worry that the president is squandering a unique opportunity to pressure the Iraqi leaders toward critical political compromises. Democrats, in particular, believe that Bush's decision to embrace Gen. David H. Petraeus's recommendation to postpone further troop withdrawals this summer could backfire, leaving the next commander in chief with an overstretched military and a more intractable political situation inside Iraq. . . .