President Bush stepped out into the Rose Garden today to address the situation in Georgia. In a sharply worded statement, the president questioned Russian claims that their military activities in the former Soviet state have been stopped, and he called on Russia to remove all of its troops from Georgian territory.

The United States of America stands with the democratically elected government of Georgia. We insist that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia be respected.

Russia has stated that changing the government of Georgia is not its goal. The United States and the world expect Russia to honor that commitment. Russia has also stated that it has halted military operations and agreed to a provisional cease-fire. Unfortunately, we're receiving reports of Russian actions that are inconsistent with these statements. We're concerned about reports that Russian units have taken up positions on the east side of the city of Gori, which allows them to block the East-West Highway, divide the country, and threaten the capital of Tbilisi.

We're concerned about reports that Russian forces have entered and taken positions in the port city of Poti, that Russian armored vehicles are blocking access to that port, and that Russia is blowing up Georgian vessels. We're concerned about reports that Georgian citizens of all ethnic origins are not being protected. All forces, including Russian forces, have an obligation to protect innocent civilians from attack.

The president also announced that he is sending Secretary of State Rice to the Georgian capital of Tblisi to personally deliver the United States' message of solidarity to Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili. He also directed Defense Secretary Robert Gates to organize a humanitarian relief mission to Georgia, to be carried out by the U.S. military.

Admiral Michael Mullen said today that he expects to be able to recommend troop reductions in Iraq this fall, as security gains from the troop surge continue to hold. Mullen made his comments in a Pentagon press conference with Defense Secretary Robert Gates on the occasion of the removal of the last of five additional brigades ordered into Iraq as a part of the surge. The withdrawal of the third infantry division's second brigade officially ended the surge, and went little noticed in the mainstream press, itself an indication of the strategy's effectiveness.

Mullen said that any additional troop withdrawals would be dependent on conditions on the ground in Iraq, but that the trend was looking good for reductions.

"I won't go so far as to say that progress in Iraq from a military perspective has reached a tipping point or is reversible - it has not, and it is not. But security is unquestionably and remarkably better. Indeed, if these trends continue I expect to be able early this fall to recommend to the secretary and the president further troop reductions."

Now that the surge has ended, Iraq Commander Gen. David Petraeus will evaluate the ability of Iraqis to hold the security gains for the next 45 days. That would put a decision on troop withdrawals sometime after Labor Day, the traditional start of the presidential election season.

The surge has been an unquestionable success, resulting in dramatic reductions in violence, a greatly enhanced Iraqi Army and police force, and the defeat of al-Qaeda in Iraq. Military planners are now turning their attention to Afghanistan, where a stubborn insurgency, fueled by cross-border attacks from Taliban militants seeking sanctuary in Pakistan, is increasing pressure on U.S., Afghan, and NATO forces. An increase in troop levels seems warranted in that country. With Gen. Petraeus the new head of U.S. Central Command, which has jurisdiction over the Afghan war, any change in strategy there will likely closely resemble the troop surge in Iraq.

President Bush, on recommendations from defense Secretary Robert Gates, has nominated Iraq commander Gen. David Petraeus (center) to be the next head of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM). The post is a promotion for the four-star general, and would place him in charge of all U.S. military activity in the Middle East, Eastern Africa from Egypt down to Kenya, and Central Asia north to Kazakhstan and as far east as the Chinese border. The move will place Petraeus in command of all U.S forces currently on active station in the war on terror. The president also nominated Lt. General Ray Odierno (left), Petraeus's deputy in Iraq, to be the next commander of Multi-National Forces Iraq. Ray Odierno will also be promoted to the rank of General with his elevation. Petraeus will be replacing Admiral William Fallon as CENTCOM commander. William Fallon resigned last month amidst a controversy over his public disagreements with the Bush Administration over Middle East military strategy.

The promotions of Petraeus and Odierno are welcome ones and should serve to improve overall U.S. military strategy and coordination in the war on terror. Petraeus is by all accounts a brilliant strategist and probably the most capable battlefield commander in the Army. Odierno is a tough, no-nonsense military man who has brilliantly implemented the troop surge strategy outlined by Petraeus. Placing Petraeus in charge of U.S military forces in Afghanistan will greatly improve the effort to rout out a stubborn insurgency in that country's border region, not unlike that in Iraq at the beginning of last year, that has been plaguing U.S. and Afghan forces' efforts to extend the reach of the Kabul government. The promotions will allow Petraeus to adapt his counterinsurgency strategy to Afghanistan while Odierno, a more than competent practitioner of that strategy, remains in control in Iraq.

As the United States military sent more troops to Afghanistan and Iraq last year to counter stubborn insurgencies in both theaters, the Army began to rely more on its controversial "stop loss" policy to fill the need for soldiers. Under orders from Defense Secretary Robert Gates to minimize the use of stop loss, the Army reduced the number of soldiers so ordered to its lowest level in three years by May of 2007. But as the troop surge into Iraq picked up steam, and the Pentagon planned to send additional units to Afghanistan, the Army began to increase that number, driving it up 43% in the last year.

Stop loss is a policy whereby a soldier may have his service commitment extended for military need or necessity. Soldiers' families are particularly burdened by the policy, as they never know when their loved ones will return from duty. The Pentagon acknowledged those concerns in a statement, but stressed the need to maintain unit cohesion and complete the mission as valid reasons for the extensions.

"Secretary Gates understands the hardship stop loss poses to our troops and their families, but he also understands the need to maintain cohesive units on the battlefield throughout deployment. Troops who have trained together and fought together should remain together."

The admiral in charge of the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), William Fallon, abruptly resigned today in what could be a sign of growing tension between the military's top ranks and the White House. U.S. Central Command is charged with overseeing military activities and planning in the Middle East and Central Asia. The resignation was announced by Defense Secretary Bill Gates and follows a profile of Fallon in Esquire magazine in which the admiral is portrayed as single-handedly holding up President Bush's plans for military action against Iran. Fallon denied the story's implication, saying, "I don't believe there have ever been any differences about the objectives of our policy in the Central Command area of responsibility."

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) was not convinced. He called the resignation a sign that, "independence and the frank, open airing of experts' views are not welcomed in this administration." But Gates echoed Fallon's claims that talk of serious disagreements between the White House and military brass was over played. "I don't think that there really were differences at all," he said, adding that Fallon was not pressured to step down.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates left India for Ankara with a message for the Turkish government: End the incursion into northern Iraq soon. Gates' comments were the first remarks by the Administration that placed an expected time limit on the Turkish military's pursuit of Kurdish separatist rebels. "It's very important that the Turks make this operation as short as possible and then leave," he said. "They have to be mindful of Iraqi sovereignty. I measure quick in terms of days, a week or two...not months."

The comments echo a call by the Iraqi government for Turkey to immediately Iraq. Baghdad is concerned about the possibility of clashes between Turkish forces and the pershmerga, the militia forces of the Kurdish controlled region in northern Iraq. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan responded by saying that the operation would end only when its goal is achieved.

Barack Obama responded to Defense Secretary Robert Gates' comments, that there should be a "pause" in troop reductions come July, with the following press release:

"I strongly disagree with the Administration's plans to "pause" the long overdue removal of our combat brigades from Iraq. We cannot wage war without end in Iraq while ignoring mounting costs to our troops and their families, our security and our economy. While the Administration puts our drawdown on permanent pause, bin Laden is on the loose, Afghanistan is sliding toward chaos, and we're spending billions of dollars a week in Baghdad instead of helping Americans who are struggling here at home. Our military leaders are concerned that Iraq is setting back our ability to respond to other priorities, and a Blue Ribbon Panel warned late last month that our National Guard is short of the equipment it needs to address crises at home. Instead of false promises and a faulty strategy, the American people need a rapid and responsible removal of our combat brigades that relieves the burden on our military, pressures the Iraqis to reconcile, and allows us to finally focus on the priorities that George Bush has neglected."

While Gates and Petraeus insist that the "pause" is only to assess the security situation after the initial drawdown, they do not say when reductions might resume, or how large they will be. The current reductions will still leave the force size in Iraq larger than the pre-surge force.

The Iraq War will be central to the general election, and Obama has positioned himself as better-prepared to do battle with John McCain on the issue because he opposed the war from the start. Today's statement is a taste of what will come then.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates said today that the Pentagon is ready to commit a small number of U.S. Troops to Pakistan if that country requests help in its internal battle with elements of the Taliban and al-Qaeda. Pakistani Army forces have been ramping up their offensive against militants in its Northwest Frontier Provinces in the wake of the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. An al-Qaeda military commander in Pakistan claimed responsibility for that assassination.

Gates said that there has been no request from Pakistan for U.S. troops, but that the United States stands, "ready, willing and able to assist the Pakistanis and to partner with them to provide additional training, to conduct joint operations, should they desire to do so."

Defense Secretary Robert Gates, in a speech before a regional security conference in Bahrain, pushed back against Iran's public declarations of victory over United States foreign policy interests in the wake of the National Intelligence Estimate on Iran's nuclear program. After the release of the NIE this week, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called the report a "fatal blow" to U.S. led efforts to increase sanctions pressure on that country.

Gates, utilizing a sarcastic tone, shot back Saturday, calling it a "watershed" moment that Iran had publicly embraced the contents of a U.S. intelligence report. That acknowledgment, he said, raised the question of what other U.S. intelligence information Iran was willing to accept at face value.

I previously posted on the Blackwater scandal and the gathering storm surrounding private security contractors (mercenaries, if you like). Well, the New York Times has a lead story on the issue, reporting that Secretary of Defense Robert Gates is pushing to have all such armed forces "fall under a single authority."

That authority, of course, would be the U.S. military. Sec. Gates posits that such a move would allow the military to better coordinate with private security personnel, placing all contractors under a single boss with a single set of rules and granting military field commanders greater operational awareness. Resistance is coming from the State Department, which hopes to maintain control over its own contracted security providers.

However the issue is resolved, the presence of civilian contractors in combat zones must be sustained, even as tight controls and enforcing jurisdiction must be established over their actions. We have a perfect opportunity to display before the Iraqi people an example of the rule of law at work. If we continue to present a Wild West scenario as regards our own citizen-contractors in their country, ordinary people are sure to doubt both our ability to secure order, as well as our commitment to such ends. A successful response to the highly-visible Blackwater ordeal might turn this tragedy into a positive lesson for both the U.S. and Iraq.