April 7, 2008
Posted: 09:32 AM ET

From
 President Bush is expected to talk about combat tours and the future of Iraq in an address Thursday.
President Bush is expected to talk about combat tours and the future of Iraq in an address Thursday.

WASHINGTON (CNN) — President Bush is planning to address the nation Thursday morning about the Iraq war, according to sources in the Bush administration and on Capitol Hill.

The address will come after Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker wrap up two days of testimony to Congress.

Republican and Democratic officials said the president is expected to discuss the administration's decision to reduce combat tours of duty from 15 months to 12 months, as well as the future in Iraq.

Full story

Filed under: President Bush


rdbtwthlins   April 7th, 2008 2:34 pm ET

Ohhhhh…, this must be the expunge Bush hate blog.

SUE, Michigan   April 7th, 2008 2:29 pm ET

Do you think he could announce his resignation at the same time? No? I guess we'd better get the impeachment going then! Hurry!

Ray H from Gainesville VA   April 7th, 2008 2:22 pm ET

ZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzz………..is he still in office? More of the same old.."this is going to take time" speech. Bring our troops home already!!!

Far as our presidents go; are there any other families out there to lead this country than the Bush's and Clinton's? Is Jeb next? Over 20 years of these people is enough!!!!! It's time for the country to go in a new direction. Out with the old and in with the new!!!!!!!!!!

Obama'08

Richard   April 7th, 2008 2:13 pm ET

PLEASE say you are resigning.!

J. Dean, Juno Beach, FLORIDA   April 7th, 2008 2:12 pm ET

DESASTER GEORGE BUSH STILL HAS ANY COURAGE TO ADDRESS OUR GREAT NATION ?
OVER 70 % OF US DO NOT APPROVE LIL GEROGE BUSH'S CONDUCT, WHY IS HE STILL WASTING AMERICA'S TIME AND RESOURCES ?
HE CAN ADDRESS HIS OPINION TO DICK CHENEY SECRETELY. ANYHOW HE HAS DONE THE SAME FOR THE LAST SEVER YEARS.

DSP   April 7th, 2008 2:01 pm ET

David Petraeus, Ryan Crocker, blah, blah, blah… Where are the Iraqi political leaders? Why are they not testifying on thier own behalf? Do they want us there or not? How come we haven't seen any of these leaders in front of our congress? Why isn't Al-Maliki anwering questions about his leadership and government?

They had time to take last summer off, surely a few days talking with our leaders for a few days would not put too much strain on the people of Iraq.

To he++ with protocol, we are beyond that. Why isn't this being suggrested by congress, or the media, or moveon.org?

Get al-Maliki in front of the american people to explain to us why our men and women are dying and convince us of the need for continued "politicol support via military action."

Patrick   April 7th, 2008 2:00 pm ET

You're doing a better job all the time on Iraq. Keep listening to the people on the ground to make your decisions and we will soon be leaving Iraq as a stable democracy.

IAMWMD   April 7th, 2008 1:56 pm ET

What a waste of airtime. America doesn't control Bush's War. Al Sadr along with Iran controls whetjer this war escalates or end and bush doesn't have a clue.

I can't wait until the U.S. pulls out and let NATO clean up this Bush mess.

Let Bush and Chaney hire mercenaries if the want to continue and NATO decides to not get involved.

ExSoldier for Obama 08

Larry Minard   April 7th, 2008 1:47 pm ET

I guess we don't have to bother listening to the speech then, because Gen. Petraeus will have already spoken about everything Pres. Bush will be saying. HINT For News Editors, Is there an advance copy of the Petraeus speech and Bush's speech? I'm guessing either man could read either speech.

William Courtland, Waterford, Ontario   April 7th, 2008 1:45 pm ET

Muqtada Al-Sadr

Title him a general of the American army with all the personnel and equipment.

You can not deny his general skill of leadership, and politcal leadership will not do.

Bill   April 7th, 2008 1:44 pm ET

What can he say other than I wanted to punish Saddam for being nasty to my daddy, and that I screwed up this thing terribly from the start.

Also now, I'm too proud to admit that this is going to be the biggest bonedoogle since Vietnam.

An Agnostic Democrat   April 7th, 2008 1:36 pm ET

Oh, great! More lies. As if Hillary hasn't told enough for the both of them. Oh, that's right! She was against the war once she started to run for the presidency after she voted for it without having read the Intelligence report! My bad; her worst.

Blayze Kohime   April 7th, 2008 1:22 pm ET

I wonder if he still thinks a significant number of people still takes what he says seriously?

JB Cali   April 7th, 2008 1:20 pm ET

Memo to Bush: You're wasting your time. We don't believe a work you say.

IH   April 7th, 2008 1:17 pm ET

worst. president.evah.

Pat Va   April 7th, 2008 1:11 pm ET

The less said, the better for his tainted legacy.

HP Boston   April 7th, 2008 1:09 pm ET

Who cares what this lying sack of crap has to say!
He is a warmonger and too stupid to know what that means.
If 30% of America think he is OK for them we should send them to IRAQ.

Bukky   April 7th, 2008 1:08 pm ET

oh yes please LIE to me some more

Farrell, Houston, Tx   April 7th, 2008 1:05 pm ET

The future of Iraq will be left with the next administration, a big mess.

TheLeftNut   April 7th, 2008 1:05 pm ET

LIES! LIES! Get your LIES right here!

didn't even read the article   April 7th, 2008 1:04 pm ET

I can't wait for this image to be used on January 20th, 2009.

sammieb51   April 7th, 2008 1:04 pm ET

I wonder if his comments will be something like " … it should be OK to start pulling troops down in oh, about 8-10 months … ". At this point he should save the taxpayers some money and keep his comments to himself.

Angel   April 7th, 2008 12:56 pm ET

Oh my GOD when is 2009 coming,it can't come any faster……
I'm sick of him already………
In 2009 there wil be President Obama/ President Clinton…..
Forget about Maccain…….
Canada is for OBAMA or HIllary……
I pary to GOD that there will be a democrat in the White house….
Then Canada can get rid of the Conervative gov't that is in BED with the Bush Administration…………….

Gavin   April 7th, 2008 12:54 pm ET

This guy is IRRELEVANT

I can't wait until Hillary slams the door when bush leaves the house.

MD   April 7th, 2008 12:49 pm ET

Oh please…You have said enough, and done enough damage already. Give America a break. Stick around for the rest of the year, preferably in the shadows, and I for one, hope to never hear your voice again once we take the White House back in November.

Jim   April 7th, 2008 12:49 pm ET

Oh GREAT — another lieathon!!!

John G Charleston SC   April 7th, 2008 12:49 pm ET

Hey the military wouldn't be quite so overburdened if Bill Clinton hadn't cut half of it out of the budget so he could have his magic little "surplus"

Patriot,NY   April 7th, 2008 12:47 pm ET

Good, I enjoy listening to President Bush because he hasn't caved in to the polls. He's a man of integrity which is something so rare that many people don't even know what it means anymore. Compare that to Clinton lying about Bosnia and Obama supporting Jeremiah Wright for 20 years.

The Austrian   April 7th, 2008 12:46 pm ET

Ooh! Ooh! Let me guess! We're going to get some drivel about how the war is going good despite what we see and that we need to stay the course and how Iraq is better off and so are we and we should bomb Iran before it gets too late!

If he says anything other than this I will be floored…

Great news   April 7th, 2008 12:46 pm ET

Oh, good. Now we can find out if we're "winning" or not in Iraq and maybe we can hear more about "evil doers" and those who "hate us for our freedom." Of course, in the mean time, Iraqis will try to lead their lives without getting blown up by a "terrorist" and our soldiers will continue fighting an enemy we've so grossly shown to have never understood.

I look forward to the enlightenment.

Kevin   April 7th, 2008 12:45 pm ET

Whatever the Idiot in Chief says, everyone with a thinking bone in their body will know it is a lie. Shrub couldn't tell the truth about anything, He thinks his ears might fall off.

db   April 7th, 2008 12:42 pm ET

Unless he's going to tell us he's bringing the troops home now and turning himself in for war crimes, what's the point in addressing us? He doesn't have anything else to say that I'm interested in hearing.

Herman LA, CA   April 7th, 2008 12:37 pm ET

This is the most arrogant pimple face president on the planet earth; he should not have the right to use a pen to sign nothing into law. I can't stand President Bush and when he is gone I am going to jump off the top of empire state building and shout Hallelujah this warmonger is gone.

Get out of office now!!!

Bush will go down as the worsts president of all times how about that title to live with Bush Jr out of all 43 presidents.

1 George Washington (1789-97)
2 John Adams, 1797-1801 (Federalist)
3 Thomas Jefferson, 1801-9 (Democratic-Republican)
4 James Madison, 1809-17 (Democratic-Republican)
5 James Monroe, 1817-25 (Democratic-Republican)
6 John Quincy Adams, 1825-29 (Democratic-Republican)
7 Andrew Jackson, 1829-37 (Democrat)
8 Martin Van Buren, 1837-41 (Democrat)
9 William Henry Harrison, 1841 (Whig)
10 John Tyler, 1841-45 (Whig)
11 James Knox Polk, 1845-49 (Democrat)
12 Zachary Taylor, 1849-50 (Whig)
13 Millard Fillmore, 1850-53 (Whig)
14 Franklin Pierce, 1853-57 (Democrat)
15 James Buchanan, 1857-61 (Democrat)
16 Abraham Lincoln, 1861-65 (Republican)
17 Andrew Johnson, 1865-69 (Democrat/National Union)
18 Ulysses Simpson Grant, 1869-77 (Republican)
19 Rutherford Birchard Hayes, 1877-81 (Republican)
20 James Abram Garfield, 1881 (Republican)
21 Chester Alan Arthur, 1881-85 (Republican)
22 Grover Cleveland, 1885-89 (Democrat)
23 Benjamin Harrison, 1889-93 (Republican)
24 Grover Cleveland, 1893-97 (Democrat)
25 William McKinley, 1897-1901 (Republican)
26 Theodore Roosevelt, 1901-9 (Republican)
27 William Howard Taft, 1909-13 (Republican)
28 Woodrow Wilson, 1913-21 (Democrat)
29 Warren Gamaliel Harding, 1921-23 (Republican)
30 Calvin Coolidge, 1923-29 (Republican)
31 Herbert Clark Hoover, 1929-33 (Republican)
32 Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 1933-45 (Democrat)
33 Harry S Truman, 1945-53 (Democrat)
34 Dwight David Eisenhower, 1953-61 (Republican)
35 John Fitzgerald Kennedy, 1961-63 (Democrat)
36 Lyndon Baines Johnson, 1963-69 (Democrat)
37 Richard Milhous Nixon, 1969-74 (Republican)
38 Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr , 1974-77 (Republican)
39 James Earl Carter, 1977-81 (Democrat)
40 Ronald Wilson Reagan, 1981-89 (Republican)
41 George Herbert Walker Bush, 1989-1993 (Republican)
42 William Jefferson Clinton, 1993- 2001(Democrat)
43 George W. Bush, 2001- (Republican)

FELISA   April 7th, 2008 12:32 pm ET

lame duck quack, quack

Doug R.   April 7th, 2008 12:31 pm ET

I wonder if he'll mention the Green Zone being shelled and the 5 American soldiers killed in Iraq over the weekend??
Any objective and open-minded American shouldn't believe a word this man is telling us. Bush has lied to, mislead, and deceived the American since March 2003. Iraq is a diaster and George Bush is to blame. Our troops marched in there and they should march right out. If the Iraqi government can't solve their own problems…oh well. Now Iran is more involved than ever. It has become a no win situation. We were told democracy is well established there, the Iraqi people can govern themselves, and the insurgency is in its death throes.

Ian   April 7th, 2008 12:30 pm ET

I am looking forward to him claiming victory…again.

Shannon Shiflett   April 7th, 2008 12:28 pm ET

impeach and convict the bush administration

Dayahka   April 7th, 2008 12:23 pm ET

The problem is not the length of a tour, it's in the fact that tours are extended twice, three times, maybe more. The troops are dispirited, worn out, and on the verge of collapse. Not having limited the tours to one period of six months years ago shows how irresponsible the C-in-C is.

Mary - Independent   April 7th, 2008 12:22 pm ET

Let's hope that this President does something positive with the Iraq war by reducing combat tours of duty from 15 to 12 months. So far, the war has taken entirely too much money from the United States and it is tragic that this country is suffering.

Nathan   April 7th, 2008 12:20 pm ET

Although it's a miniscule effort in the face of what needs to be done to support our troops–whose lives have suffered mightily as a result of Bush's folly–it IS a step forward. However, there is little new to be said about the war itself. It is quicksand. Bush has us taken us in so deep that almost nothing we do can lead toward a stable political situation and almost everything we do just takes us in deeper. After so many wrong actions, there is no easy way to make things right.

Stephanie Laird   April 7th, 2008 12:19 pm ET

When is he going to discuss other areas that are affecting us here at home for example, gas prices, food prices — the eldely and just plain people who are working and trying to get by. I am disabled have a college degree and am working for a good company, but barely can afford to pay my bills. I am not one who has a big morgage — we bought something practical based on our net — we do not drive fancy cars and do not have piles of credit card debt.
Why isn't he addressing last weeks meeting with the CEO's of the largest oil companies and congress and how when asked one of theCEO's said "then don't drive so much".

NickNas   April 7th, 2008 12:17 pm ET

Bush can talk about Iraq till he is blue in the face and it will NEVER erase the facts that ke LIED to get us there and he has LIED to keep us there and he suceeded ONLY in stealing HUNDREDS of Billions of dollars and somehow got to run the clock out and slink off to his hole and Texas to count his Cash.

That is all!!!

If the Dems want ANY credibility they HAVE to Procecute this criminal and all of his henchmen.

Jack Walden   April 7th, 2008 12:14 pm ET

I dont know, other than those 28%, if anyone cares what Bush says anymore or trusts what he says. Hasn't he done enough global harm already?

Terry Gloege (Kansas)   April 7th, 2008 12:13 pm ET

Now there's a shocker. The man never misses a chance to spin a good yarn.

David   April 7th, 2008 12:12 pm ET

oh, save your breath, dear globalist.

4Real SC   April 7th, 2008 12:11 pm ET

Bush give up and let our troops come home. We as Americans love our troops and they should be on a plane coming home.

Randy - Denver   April 7th, 2008 12:07 pm ET

cant we get a gag order or a restraining order on this idiot and not let him bother us again? After he is finally removed from office (it should ahve been done under impeachment) he can go on the lecture circuit to the rednecks and idiots who like him and I will not have to listen to him.

mep   April 7th, 2008 12:02 pm ET

Again, from this regime - too little too late. I can't imagine many in the country want to hear what Bush has to say about anything. Roll on January when we can all witness that stupid wave of his for the last time.

RENEA,PLYMOUTH,MI   April 7th, 2008 11:59 am ET

WHY IS IT THAT WE HAVE CHANGE OUR TRADE POLICY THAT PERMITS 92% OF COLUMBIAN GOODS INTO THIS COUNTRY WITH OUT A TARIFF BUT THE UNTIED STATES IS CHARGED 35% DUTY FOR GOODS THAT WE SHIP TO THAT COUNTRY? IT IS COLUMBIA WHO SHOULD CHANGE THERE POLICY NOT OUR COUNTRY!

therealist   April 7th, 2008 11:58 am ET

Biden thinks that the surge in Iraq is a failure because "while violence has diminished, Iraqi politicians have yet to put aside its differences".

A government that has yet to put aside its differences?
Evidently, Joe is expecting more from the Iraqi's in 1year than he has given of himself in 20…

Spirit of America   April 7th, 2008 11:56 am ET

Will it be "mission accomplished"?

For the good of the country/world he and Cheney will hopefully announce their resignation, admit they are utter failures and turn themselves in to the authorities (i.e. We, The People).

paul oregon   April 7th, 2008 11:51 am ET

bush,chenny doesnt really care what the public thinks why should we care what he says hillary ,bush chenny and mccain sure
misspeak alot its hard to belive what any of them have to say

Mike   April 7th, 2008 11:47 am ET

Will it say what he said in his speech long ago? "To the Iraqi people, dont touch the oil."

Still Crazy After All These Years   April 7th, 2008 11:45 am ET

"And so it goes"-Kurt Vonnegaut

sozzi   April 7th, 2008 11:45 am ET

Why? Go away already.

Somewhere in Texas   April 7th, 2008 11:44 am ET

He is not going to admit that he has screwed this country, so what is he going to tell us?

Frank Robertson, Amherst, NY   April 7th, 2008 11:41 am ET

Hooray! We've won! Oh, wait, that was last year's speech. Perhaps this year's will focus on how 'we're spreading freedom!' No, no, that was two year's ago…. Hmm, well, it can't be 'mission accomplished' again, since that didn't play so well with the American public, either. Oh, never mind, I'm sure that King George will come up with some clever slogan for he and Queen Cheney to dance around……

Edgar   April 7th, 2008 11:41 am ET

I am a register democratic and have supported the war in Iraq even if it has gone wrong and difficult. Please finish strong and show the nation that no matter what the liberal - demoractic party agenda is we need a strong nation and not a weak nation in foreign affairs.

shirley   April 7th, 2008 11:36 am ET

I saw Frontline's documentary "Bushes War" and now think President Bush should sit down and shut up until he is out of office.

Comments have been closed for this article

subscribe RSS Icon
About The Ticker

The latest political news from CNN's Best Political Team, with campaign coverage, 24-7. Sign up for our twice daily Ticker emails. Got a news tip or feedback? For complete political coverage, bookmark CNNPolitics.com.

CNN=Politics Screensaver

CNN=Politics ScreensaverTap into the power of The Situation Room. Download this powerful new tool that keeps you posted on the latest political news from the campaign trail.
Download (4.1 MB, PC only)

Follow us on Twitter

CNN on TwitterGet Ticker updates the moment they appear online via the Web, SMS, or instant messages.
Follow politicalticker

Categories
CNN Comment Policy: CNN encourages you to add a comment to this discussion. You may not post any unlawful, threatening, libelous, defamatory, obscene, pornographic or other material that would violate the law. Please note that CNN makes reasonable efforts to review all comments prior to posting and CNN may edit comments for clarity or to keep out questionable or off-topic material. All comments should be relevant to the post and remain respectful of other authors and commenters. By submitting your comment, you hereby give CNN the right, but not the obligation, to post, air, edit, exhibit, telecast, cablecast, webcast, re-use, publish, reproduce, use, license, print, distribute or otherwise use your comment(s) and accompanying personal identifying information via all forms of media now known or hereafter devised, worldwide, in perpetuity. CNN Privacy Statement.
Home  |  World  |  U.S.  |  Politics  |  Entertainment  |  Health  |  Tech  |  Travel  |  Living  |  Business  |  Sports  |  Time.com
Podcasts  |  Blogs  |  CNN Mobile  |  Preferences |  Email Alerts  |  CNN Radio  |  CNN Shop  |  Site Map
© 2008 Cable News Network LP, LLLP. A Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved.
Powered by WordPress.com