Bush Preps for Exit Strategy on Surge

White House orders reports that could counter pro-surge Petraeus come Sept.
By J. Kelman,  Newser User
Posted Jun 23, 2007 9:00 PM CDT
Bush Preps for Exit Strategy on Surge
President Bush makes a statement on the war in Iraq in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Monday, April 23, 2007. With him is Gen. David Petraeus, commander of the multinational force in Iraq. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)   (Associated Press)

The Bush administration has commissioned a slew of reports that could help it justify an end to the troop surge later this fall, the New York Times reports. Three months before Gen. Petraeus's planned report on the efficacy of the troop increase—expected to recommend a continuation of the surge—Bush and Co. are lining up others who will recommend an alternate strategy come September.

They include the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a long-time Bush foe just tapped by the Pentagon to conduct one congressionally mandated study on Iraq. Senior administration officials say Bush needs an out, given political pressures and the realities of an overstretched army. “Petraeus wants as much time as he can get,” says one senior administration official, but “the president may not have the leeway.” (More Iraq stories.)

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