Petraeus declares the inevitable as his plan

It's a very clever tactic, really....

The top American commander in Iraq said Wednesday he was preparing recommendations on troop cuts before he returns to Washington next month for a report to Congress, and believes the U.S. footprint in Iraq will have to be "a good bit smaller" by next summer.

It's been widely reported that is impossible for the Army to maintain the current troop levels through spring, so, declaring recommendations of troop cuts (coincidentally matching the deployment limitations) isn't really news.