In addition to his unexpected visit to the Anbar province in Baghdad, President Bush made the surprising statement that it may be possible to begin a gradual reduction in troop numbers. Bush was not, however, inferring that there would be a phased withdrawal in the sense that the mission had failed. Rather Bush explicitly stated that any troop withdrawals would be from a position of strength as opposed to bowing to any political, international or media pressure.

According to Reuters, Bush had expressed the sentiment that if military commanders deemed it possible to maintain the current levels of security with smaller numbers of troops, the president would consider reducing troop levels as it would be from a position of strength and not weakness. Once again, the president would make the decision based upon the recommendation of military commanders and not any sources of external pressure.

It would seem that yet another showdown between the President and Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid over funding for the troops is looming. Much of the upcoming debate will surely revolve around the current situation where the Iraqi government has proven to be woefully incompetent and unable to provide the necessary political solutions such as passing the oft delayed oil revenue sharing bill required to aid in stabilizing the country.