After a contentious debate in Congress on Iraq, President George W. Bush on Thursday will defend his war policy, which will leave resolution of the costly and unpopular conflict to his successor.
In a statement at the White House, Bush was expected to endorse a recommendation by his commander in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus, to complete a limited withdrawal of combat troops by July but then impose a 45-day freeze to assess the security situation.
Bush has repeatedly said that his decisions on U.S. troops in Iraq would be based on advice from commanders on the ground, and he has opposed setting timetables for withdrawal.
He was also expected to announce that the tour of duty for U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan would be reduced to one year from 15 months now served.
Bush will meet with Petraeus and Ryan Crocker, U.S. ambassador to Iraq, for breakfast at the White House in the early morning, and then make the Iraq statement at 11:30 a.m. (1530 GMT) before leaving for a long weekend at his Crawford, Texas, ranch.
Petraeus and Crocker painted a somber picture of the situation in Iraq in testimony to Congress on Tuesday and Wednesday which Democrats said gave no sign of an exit strategy after five years of war.
"Those of us who have been at this a long time obviously want the war to end as much as anybody else, perhaps maybe more," Petraeus said. "What we want to do is come home the right way without jeopardizing the gains we fought to achieve."
The Iraq war is a key issue in the presidential race, and the hearings gave three senators who want to succeed Bush in the White House - Republican John McCain and Democrats Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton - an opportunity to air their views.
