Bush to cut force in Iraq by 8,000

WASHINGTON (CNN) - President Bush will bring home about 8,000 combat support forces from Iraq over the next several months, he says in remarks prepared for delivery Tuesday to the National Defense University.

In a transcript of the remarks given to the news media, Bush says that he is making the decision based on a recommendation from top military officers, including Gen. David Petraeus, the highest-ranking U.S. military officer in Baghdad.

"He and the Joint Chiefs of Staff have recommended that we move forward with additional force reductions," the transcript says.

"Over the next several months, we will bring home about 3,400 combat support forces - including aviation personnel, explosive ordnance teams, combat and construction engineers, military police, and logistical support forces. By November, we will bring home a Marine battalion that is now serving in Anbar province. And in February of 2009, another Army combat brigade will come home.

"This amounts to about 8,000 additional American troops returning home without replacement. And if the progress in Iraq continues to hold, General Petraeus and our military leaders believe additional reductions will be possible in the first half of 2009."