Bush halts Iraq troop cuts, says war "not endless"

By Tabassum Zakaria

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush said on Thursday he would suspend U.S. troop withdrawals from Iraq this summer but tried to reassure a weary public that the war, to be handed to his successor in January, was "not endless."

Bush also cut the length of tours of duty to one year from 15 months for troops deploying to Iraq and Afghanistan starting on August 1 to try to ease strains on the military.

He endorsed a recommendation by his commander in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus, to complete a withdrawal in July of about 20,000 extra combat forces deployed in the last year but then impose a 45-day freeze on the remaining 140,000 troops to assess the security situation before considering more cuts.

"I've told him he'll have all the time he needs," Bush said in a speech at the White House.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates held out the prospect of more troop withdrawals from Iraq this autumn.

"I do not anticipate this period of review to be an extended one and I would emphasize that the hope, depending on conditions on the ground, is to reduce our presence further this fall," Gates told the Senate Armed Services Committee.

But he said he no longer hoped to get troop levels down to 100,000 by January, when Bush's successor takes over.

Bush stepped up his criticism of Iran, accusing it of backing militants who conduct attacks in Iraq, and warned that failure in Iraq would embolden both Iran and al Qaeda.