SCOTT SIMON, host:
This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. I'm Scott Simon.
President Bush continued his Middle East trip today, shifting his focus from the Arab-Israeli conflict to the war in Iraq. He was in Kuwait, in the sprawling U.S. military base there, where he met General David Petraeus, the top commander in Iraq, and Ryan Crocker, the U.S. ambassador.
The president is now in Bahrain, as is NPR's Michele Kelemen.
Michele, thanks for being with us.
MICHELE KELEMEN: Thanks for having me.
SIMON: And after the meetings, the president talked about troop drawdowns and how he believes the war is going now. What did he tell the troops? What did he say?
KELEMEN: Well, he didn't say much to the troops actually. He spoke to reporters before he came out to speak to the troops. And what he talked about is, you know, it's been a year since he's sent in all these combat - extra combat troops and changed the mission. He says now hope is returning to Baghdad. He says it's a different place than it was a year ago. But he said the long-term success will require active U.S. engagement that outlasts his presidency.
As for a drawdown, you know, he talked about what he's announced before that an Army brigade has left - the Marine Expeditionary Unit has left. But he's taking his cues from his commander on the ground, David Petraeus. And he says if he doesn't want to continue to this drawdown, then that's fine with me.
We pressed General Petraeus a little bit afterwards on this, and he said that, you know, they are talking about the pace of the reduction, the timing of the reduction. They're considering all these scenarios. They didn't talk about numbers, when he met with President Bush today. But it's all going to depend really on when they first started drawing down what that does, whether it leads to more violence or whether it's the same or less.
SIMON: And I gather that Iran's influence in Iraq was also a theme.
KELEMEN: It was a major theme. David Petraeus said that they've been seeing mixed indicators, and it's very hard to read what's happening with the Iranian influence in Iraq. The U.S. has seen a decline in attacks by militias that it says is getting support from Iran. And it's also seen a decline in attacks that used the weaponry associated with Iran. But he said in the last week and a half, these sophisticated explosive devices that the U.S. believes have come in from Iran that these sorts of attacks have been on the rise in the past 10 days. So he says it's really hard to read.
Ambassador Ryan Crocker was also there, and he was talking about the political side of that. He's been meeting with his Iranian counterpart in Baghdad. And he said he's ready to do it again, but they haven't heard back from the Iranians.
SIMON: About 3,000 troops had a chance to hear the president, and I know you had a chance to talk with some troops. What did they tell you? How would you describe how they're feeling?
KELEMEN: Well, you know, a lot of them were disappointed that they had waited a couple of hours outside for the president and he came out and he gave a fairly perfunctory speech, I mean, thanking them and talking about how he thinks that history will look back on this war as a victory. But he didn't really say much - didn't offer anything, for instance, about a drawdown. And that's something that they really want to hear.
One guy told me that he had to come. He said I was "voluntold" to come here. Others said they, you know, wanted to hear more about where this war is heading and how it might end. And that wasn't what the message that was coming from the president. In fact, they got a little bit more hyped up beforehand, singing, you know, classic Queen song.
(Soundbite of song, "Bohemian Rhapsody")
SIMON: NPR's Michele Kelemen in Bahrain.
Thanks very much.
KELEMEN: Thank you for having me.