US President George W. Bush said in an interview out Thursday that he plans to complete a limited US troop withdrawal from Iraq by July, then freeze the draw-down for a six-week review of the war effort. Bush told the Weekly Standard that he agreed with the top US commander in Iraq, Army General David Petraeus, that the US should cut combat troops from 20 brigades to 15 by July, then “wait and see” before any more go home. “David Petraeus is right, we can go down to 15,” but after that Petraeus “wants to wait and see. And I strongly support that. And therefore [I] won't commit beyond July,” Bush told the magazine, which strongly supports the war. With nearly two out of three Americans opposing the conflict, Bush was to deliver a 15-20 statement at 11:30 am (1530 GMT) to lay out his strategy – which is certain to leave the vastly unpopular war to his successor. __
