US officials: Bush unlikely to order more than symbolic troop cuts in Iraq

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
President George W. Bush's senior advisers on Iraq have recommended he stand by his current war strategy, and he is unlikely to order more than a symbolic cut in troops before the end of the year, administration officials said on Tuesday. The recommendations from the military commander in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus, and US Ambassador Ryan Crocker come despite independent government findings Tuesday that Baghdad has not met most of the political, military and economic markers set by Congress.