By Xinhua
Kuwait City : U.S. President George W. Bush warned Saturday against Syria and Iran’s fuelling violence in Iraq.
Bush made the warning while speaking to reporters after meetinghis top political and military commanders in Iraq at the U.S. military base of Camp Arifjan in Kuwait.
Bush urged that Syria “needs to further reduce the flow of terrorists” and Iran must stop supporting militias that attack U.S.and Iraqi forces.
Meanwhile, Bush promised that his goal of reducing troop numbers in Iraq by July was on track.
After the report of Petraeus and Crocker to Congress in September, Bush announced the partial troops withdrawal from Iraq by July.
“The only thing I can tell you is we’re on track for what we’vesaid was going to happen,” he said, referring to plans to withdrawsome 30,000 troops from Iraq by July.
However, Bush reaffirmed his stance that reduced force levels will depend on conditions in Iraq and asked Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, to make the decision.
Gen. Petraeus and U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker are scheduled to make a recommendation to Congress in March.
“My attitude is if he (Gen. Petraeus) didn’t want to continue the drawdown, that’s fine with me,” Bush said.
Bush, who arrived in Kuwait on the first leg of a four-nation Gulf tour after Israel and the Palestinian territories, met with Petraeus and Crocker at Camp Arifjan, which serves as a staging ground for forces deploying to Iraq.