Petraeus to Seek to Limit Pause in Pullout to 6 Weeks

From The New York Times.

The top American military commander in Iraq will recommend that President Bush order a brief pause in troop reductions from Iraq this summer, but the White House expects that the withdrawals will resume before Mr. Bush leaves office, a senior administration official said Friday.

General Petraeus want to temporarily pause troop reductions to let the "dust to settle" and to allow time to evaluate what effect troop reduction are having in Iraq.

General Petraeus has indicated that he would favor a pause, though he has not been specific about the timetable, and Mr. Bush has said he is likely to go along with the general’s recommendation. Earlier this week, the commander of American forces in the Middle East, Adm. William J. Fallon, said in an interview that any halt in the troop drawdown should be temporary and brief — just long enough to allow “all the dust to settle.”

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