Bush has found a commander with a coherent plan that he trusts

Washington Post:

For months, a debate raged at the top levels of the Bush administration over how quickly to reduce the number of U.S. troops in Iraq. But the discussion shut down soon after President Bush flew to Camp Arifjan, a dusty Army base near the Iraqi border in Kuwait, in January for a face-to-face meeting with the man whose counsel on the war he values most: Gen. David H. Petraeus.

During an 80-minute session, the president questioned his top commander in Iraq on whether further troop reductions, beyond those planned through July, would compromise security gains. According to officials familiar with the exchange, Petraeus said he wanted to wait until the summer to evaluate conditions -- and Bush made it clear he would support him and take any political heat.

"My attitude is, if he didn't want to continue the drawdown, that's fine with me," Bush said before television cameras later, with Petraeus standing by his side. "I said to the general: 'If you want to slow her down, fine; it's up to you.' "

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Administration officials say it is natural that Bush would give extra weight to the views of his commander on the ground, especially one whose congressional testimony in September helped deflect efforts to force a withdrawal. Current and former officials also said Petraeus has gained Bush's trust largely because he is delivering results in Iraq, after the president lost confidence in the strategy pursued in 2006 by then-Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld; Gen. George W. Casey Jr., then a top commander in Iraq; and Gen. John P. Abizaid, then chief of Centcom.

The president felt frustrated that he could not "get out of either Abizaid or Casey any coherent description of how we were going to defeat the enemy" as sectarian violence spiraled in Baghdad, one former official said. That led Bush to overrule his military advisers last year, order a "surge" of 30,000 additional U.S. forces to Iraq, and search for a new field commander who would be more in line with his views on how best to wage the war.

In an interview, Gates dismissed the notion that Petraeus has unusual access to the White House on Iraq, stressing that Bush hears the unfiltered views of several key military players: Petraeus; the Centcom chief, who brings a broader perspective on the Middle East; the Joint Chiefs, who are responsible for the health of the military; and Gates himself.

"I want to make sure the president does not just listen to one voice," said Gates, emphasizing that "Petraeus does not have any special line to the president."

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Some officials said Petraeus is pushing on an open door with Bush. The president has privately expressed impatience with military concerns over the health of the force, telling the Joint Chiefs that if they are worried about breaking the Army, the worst thing would be to lose in Iraq, according to people familiar with the conversations.

Petraeus, who considers himself an apolitical general, has sought to present independent military judgment: He has consistently sounded a more sober note on Iraq than Bush, and once again he will not vet this week's testimony with the White House -- a move that drew wonder in military circles last fall.

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What it shows is that Bush trusts his judgment and after having weekly briefings from the guy for a year, probably has a pretty good idea what he is going to say. The wonder was probably more in Democrat circles than military circles because they hope to portray Petraeus as a puppet of the White House and were thwarted by his independence.

I think we will see the same thing this time. I also think bush's point on the cost of a loss to the morale of the troops is a good one. too many people are relying on the "broke army" meme as an excuse to quit rather than win.