WASHINGTON — President Bush, accepting the recommendation of Army Gen. David H. Petraeus to halt the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq in July, said Thursday that he would give the war commander "all the time he needs" to decide on future troop cuts.
But in a surprising show of public concern about an open-ended U.S. commitment, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates told a Senate hearing that he hoped to resume troop reductions soon after a "brief" 45-day pause this summer.
Gates' comments, along with similar testimony from the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, were in stark contrast to those of Petraeus, who spent two days this week on Capitol Hill telling lawmakers that it could be months before conditions in Iraq permitted further troop withdrawals.
Differences within the Pentagon over the issue have been brewing for months, but rarely have they been aired publicly. Democrats on the Senate Armed Services Committee seized on the contrasts, prompting Gates to acknowledge that there is a difference in the way he and Petraeus view troop levels.
"My view is that [Petraeus] should be in a position at the end of that 45-day period of evaluation and consolidation to make a determination whether a next further drawdown could take place," Gates said. "One of the benefits of being secretary of Defense, I suppose, is that I'm more allowed to hope than the field commander is."
U.S. officials are in the process of withdrawing additional units sent last year as part of the troop buildup. Once the last of those units leave, in July, Petraeus will have at least 45 days before contemplating further troop cuts under the recommendation approved by Bush. But Gates and Petraeus appear to differ over how long commanders should take before deciding on further troop withdrawals.
Petraeus has been pressing to keep force levels as high as possible, winning a sympathetic ear from Bush.
In a televised address announcing that he had accepted Petraeus' recommendation, Bush said he would cut the length of Army tours from 15 months to a year starting with units deployed after Aug. 1. In the address, Bush also set a high bar for troop withdrawals.
"The day will come when Iraq is a stable democracy that helps fight our common enemies and promote our common interests in the Middle East," Bush said, aiming his comments at U.S. troops and civilians in Iraq. "When that day arrives, you'll come home with pride in your success and the gratitude of your whole nation."
