Iraq tours to be cut to 12 months

President Bush confirmed Thursday that combat tour lengths for U.S. troops will be reduced to 12 months from 15 months:

Bush said this reduction "will relieve the burden on our forces and it will make life easier for our wonderful military families."

[. . .]

Bush said terrorists "are on the run" and that generally improved security likely will permit further U.S. troop reductions.

The Washington Post reports that the "leader of the Sunni insurgent group al-Qaeda in Iraq and several of his top lieutenants have left Iraq for Afghanistan."

The CBS Evening News reported "more encouraging news about the drop in violence" in Iraq. The US death toll "this month is nine -- the lowest since the invasion in 2003.

The New York Times reports Iraq and the US are close to a deal on a long-term security arrangement. The agreement will set the terms for the presence of American troops in Iraq.

The Financial Times reports, "Iraqi oil production has risen to its highest level since the 2003 invasion on the back of improved security across the country." Iraq pumped an average of 2.43m bpd between April and June.

If Obama had his way, U.S. troops would have been out of Iraq in March 2008, and there would have been no surge which made all this progress possible. No wonder the Obama scrubbed his website to remove his criticism of the surge.

The following video highlights the poor judgment Obama is trying to erase: