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Bush approves Iraq troop freeze
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By Agencies
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![General Petraeus told US Congress gains from the surge were 'fragile and reversible' [AFP]](http://mwcnews.net/images/stories/US-Forces/1/2/3/4/Petraeus.jpg "General Petraeus told US Congress gains from the surge were 'fragile and reversible' [AFP]") | | General Petraeus told US Congress gains from the surge were 'fragile and reversible' [AFP] |
George Bush, the US president, has said he will suspend troop withdrawals from Iraq after July to assess the security situation in the country.
Bush endorsed the recommendation, made to the US Congress by General David Petraeus, his senior commander in Iraq, that a period of evaluation should follow the withdrawal of five brigades.
The US president also said that General Petraeus would be given "all the time he needs" to evaluate further troop withdrawals.
This week Petraeus told US Congress that "significant" military gains from the so-called surge were "fragile and reversible".
The current drawdown would reduce troop levels from about 158,000 to 140,000.
Bush's statement, coming seven months before the US holds its presidential election, effectively means that whoever succeeds Bush as the nation's leader will have to decide whether and how to end the Iraq conflict, now in its sixth year.
It also comes as a new joint AP-Ipsos opinion poll revealed that his public approval rating has slumped to a new low of just 28 per cent.
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Tags: US president David Petraeus Iraq troop
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