Bush Says Troop Drawdowns Unrealistic

 Continuing his stance on no “cutting and running” in Iraq, President Bush had this to say while meeting while meeting with the Iraqi Prim Minister Thursday:

President Bush delivered a staunch endorsement of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki Thursday morning and dismissed calls for U.S. troop withdrawals from Iraq as unrealistic, following a summit meeting in which the two leaders discussed cracking down on sectarian violence and speeding the turnover of security responsibilities…

Bush said he told Maliki that the White House’s own review of strategy in Iraq is nearing conclusion. The Pentagon on Wednesday announced the shift of some U.S. troops to Baghdad from elsewhere in the country and the possible mobilization of addition reserve units.

Bush is known for not telegraphing major policy changes in advance; he announced the replacement of Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, for example, only days after saying Rumsfeld would stay until the end of his term. But the president’s comments in Amman, coupled with other statements in the past few days, seemed to set firm lines on Iraq policy beyond which he would not be pushed.