Condoleezza Rice and Robert Gates

Rice and Gates assured visiting U.S.Cabinet officers, that the U. S. will not abruptly withdraw troops from Iraq. The U.S. Cabinet officers, hearing blunt concerns from nervous Arab leaders reassured them. Even as an increasingly impatient Congress presses for troops to come home, Condoleezza Rice and Robert Gates said they told Gulf leaders that President Bush will take the region's stability into account as he plans long-term strategy for Iraq.