Prometheus 6

The president has frequently spoken in public and private about his desire to leave a stable Iraq for his successor, an objective that seemed implausible amid spiraling sectarian violence in 2006. Aides said this impulse animated his decision to send an additional 30,000 U.S. troops to Iraq last year and that it colors every aspect of his Iraq policy, from negotiations on the security agreement to efforts to forge political compromises in Iraq. 

Next President Will Discover If U.S. Footprint Stabilizes Iraq
By Michael Abramowitz and Karen DeYoung
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, April 10, 2008; A16

In deciding to leave behind a large presence of U.S. forces in Iraq at the end of his term, President Bush has made clear that he believes he will be doing the next president a favor, with more troops boosting the chances that his successor will inherit a more stable country.

But many leading Democrats -- and even some Republicans -- worry that the president is squandering a unique opportunity to pressure the Iraqi leaders toward critical political compromises. Democrats, in particular, believe that Bush's decision to embrace Gen. David H. Petraeus's recommendation to postpone further troop withdrawals this summer could backfire, leaving the next commander in chief with an overstretched military and a more intractable political situation inside Iraq.

The time to begin a withdrawal is now, Susan Rice, a senior foreign policy adviser to Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), said in an interview yesterday. "The longer we stay, the more Americans die and more costly this becomes in lives and treasure," she said.

In hearings Tuesday and yesterday, even Republicans pressed Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker on whether the administration is doing enough to capitalize on the presence of U.S. troops to push the Iraqis toward political progress. Lawmakers cited a long-term security agreement now being negotiated between the United States and Iraq as an opportunity to encourage Iraqi leaders to hold provincial elections, pass oil legislation and take other key steps.

"I look upon [this] as an opportunity to say to the Iraqis: This is your chance, and we want a greater momentum towards political reconciliation," said Sen. John W. Warner (R-Va.).

The president has frequently spoken in public and private about his desire to leave a stable Iraq for his successor, an objective that seemed implausible amid spiraling sectarian violence in 2006. Aides said this impulse animated his decision to send an additional 30,000 U.S. troops to Iraq last year and that it colors every aspect of his Iraq policy, from negotiations on the security agreement to efforts to forge political compromises in Iraq.

But as Petraeus and Crocker suggested in testimony this week, prospects for reaching the president's goal remain ambiguous, given the ongoing violence and the political strife. One thing seemed clear from their joint congressional appearance: The next president will inherit a sizable footprint of U.S. forces in Iraq, probably not far below the "pre-surge" number to which U.S. troop levels are supposed to fall by July, about 140,000. Bush is scheduled to make a formal announcement on his plans today.