The shift in troop levels was widely anticipated and was the thrust of a recommendation by Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top U.S. military officer in Iraq who is about to become head of the U.S. Central Command, responsible for U.S. forces across the Middle East.
Citing a drop in civilian deaths and sectarian killings in Iraq and a return to "normal life," Bush is offering an upbeat assessment.
"Here is the bottom line: While the enemy in Iraq is still dangerous, we have seized the offensive, and Iraqi forces are becoming increasingly capable of leading and winning the fight," he says.
Under the plan Bush is endorsing, 3,400 support troops will pull out of Iraq over the next several months; a Marine battalion will be withdrawn in November, and an Army combat brigade -- 3,500 to 4,000 soldiers -- will leave in February.
All told, the United States will withdraw about 8,000 of the 140,000 troops now in Iraq, Bush says.
"If the progress in Iraq continues to hold, Gen. Petraeus and our military leaders believe additional reductions will be possible in the first half of 2009," Bush says. But in Afghanistan, "huge challenges" remain.
He says "the Taliban and the terrorists" have been able to shake Afghan confidence. Democratic institutions are fragile, and the country has few natural resources.
As a result, Bush will say, a Marine battalion that was scheduled for deployment to Iraq in November will go to Afghanistan; in January, an Army combat brigade will follow.
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james.gerstenzang@latimes.com
Times staff writer Julian E. Barnes contributed to this report.
