As Iraqi forces gain experience and the political process advances, we will be able to decrease our troop level in Iraq without losing our capability to defeat the terrorists. These decisions about troop levels will be driven by the conditions on the ground in Iraq and the good judgment of our commanders, not by artificial timetables set by politicians in Washington.
Iraq Strategy Address at the U.S. Naval Academy, delivered 30 November 2005, U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland
