AL ASAD AIR BASE, IRAQ — President Bush made an unannounced visit to Iraq on Monday and held out the possibility that some U.S. troops might be withdrawn if security gains made in one part of the country could be spread to other areas.
However, the president offered no timetable on a withdrawal and did not suggest how many troops might be involved. And he insisted that decisions on force levels should not be driven by "a nervous reaction by Washington politicians or poll results."
Bush, who had been expected to leave Washington on Monday for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Australia, instead flew in secrecy to this air base in Iraq's Anbar province Sunday night to meet with top U.S. and Iraqi officials, including Prime Minister Nouri Maliki, and American troops. He later flew to Australia.
The six-hour visit gave Bush, who was joined by Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, a high-profile opportunity to argue that conditions in Iraq were improving. It came not long before Congress is to receive long-awaited reports on Iraq and intensively debate whether to push for a withdrawal timetable.
The president hailed what U.S. officials say is the improving security situation in Anbar, once one of the most violent regions in Iraq. He praised Sunni tribal leaders in the province who are fighting alongside U.S. forces against the group Al Qaeda in Iraq.
Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, and U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker "tell me if the kind of success we are now seeing continues it will be possible to maintain the same level of security with fewer American forces," Bush said.
The two officials are scheduled to report to Congress next week on the Bush administration's buildup of 28,500 additional troops in Iraq this year and are expected to argue that the changes in Anbar are evidence the strategy is working.
Outside the administration, many diplomats, Iraqi officials and other observers are more skeptical. They say violence in Anbar is down in large part because militants have simply moved to other parts of the country, where attacks have increased sharply this year.
Iraqi leaders also worry that Sunni Arab tribes fighting alongside U.S. forces eventually will turn against Iraq's central government, which is dominated by Shiite Muslims.
U.S. officials said they had brought Maliki and the other Iraqi leaders to Anbar in part to show the Sunni tribes that the central government was supportive of them.
