In Sydney, Bush again says open to troop cuts

Bush arrived in Sydney on Tuesday night, after a surprise trip to Iraq that comes a week before the top US general in Iraq, David Petraeus, and US ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker, are to testify to the US Congress on conditions there.

He said the Petraeus-Crocker recommendations would be key to helping him formulate his strategy, but stopped short of saying whether a report he would submit to Congress after their testimony would contain further specifics on troop levels.

Bush saw achievements in bringing down the levels of violence and on reconciling Iraq’s warring factions, a view much more upbeat than that of a US Congressional report on Tuesday that found still-high levels of violence and little progress on the political front.

“Reconciliation is taking place and it’s important, in my judgment, for the security of America and for the security of Australia that we hang in there with the Iraqis and help them,” Bush said.

A report from an investigative agency of the US Congress said on Tuesday Iraq had failed to meet 11 of 18 political and military goals set by Congress last May. Among the political goals it has failed to meet is the passage of a law on the sharing of oil revenues among the country’s regions.

Bush said he would like to see the government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki pass an oil law but credited it with taking other steps, such as setting a budgeting process.

At the news conference, Howard, a staunch ally of the US president, gave a strong pledge of support for the Iraq mission, despite the unpopularity in Australia of the war. “Our commitment to Iraq remains and Australian forces will remain at their present levels in Iraq, not based on any calendar but based on conditions on the ground,” Howard declared.