Bush Defers on Troop Pullouts, Upbraids Iran

At a naval base in Kuwait today, President Bush praised the success of US forces in Iraq since the surge and said he would not pressure Gen. David Petraeus to continue troop drawdowns beyond the 30,000 scheduled to be pulled out by July. "My attitude is, if he didn't want to continue the drawdown, that's fine with me," the president told reporters. "I said to the general, 'If you want to slow her down, fine. It's up to you.' "

Petraeus is due to give Congress another progress report this March. Bush also charged Iran with continuing to foment violence in Iraq, supporting militants with training and aid. Petraeus told reporters overall flow of weaponry from Iran into Iraq is down, but attacks with "explosively formed projectiles," which have been tied to Tehran, are up sharply, the AP reports. (More Iraq war stories.)