In Speech Tonight, Bush Will Lay Out Long-Term Plan To Stay In Iraq

In his “eighth” major Iraq speech, President Bush will tonight endorse the Gen. David Petraeus’s plan to stay 9-10 years in Iraq, prolonging the escalation until next summer. From exerpts of tonight’s speech:

These Iraqi leaders have asked for an enduring relationship with America. And we are ready to begin building that relationship.

At the end of 2008, by the best calculations, there will be anywhere from ninety to 110,000 troops still in Iraq. And if in fact there’s going to be this long term strategic relationship, that number will necessarily have to go down, but it indicates that we are in Iraq for the long, long haul.