I am instantly suspicious of this story. I don't know whether they're floating trial balloons, practicing disinformation, or if Jeff Sessions is really going out on a limb away from the party line. Common sense tells me that we really have no other choice but to reduce troop levels, save reinstating the draft. However, given how many times we've been told one thing in the media only to have the exact opposite be the reality, I'm going to remain skeptical on this one.

Yahoo: Senator Jeff Sessions, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said a progress report due in September by the commander of US troops in Iraq would provide a chance to scale back the 147,000-strong US force.

"By September, when General (David) Petraeus is to make a report, I think most of the people in Congress believe, unless something extraordinary occurs, that we should be on a move to draw those surge numbers down," Session told CBS television's "Face the Nation" program.

"I don't think we need to be an occupying power. This is a fine line we've walked, and this surge has got to be temporary. We do not need to be and cannot be perceived as just occupying Iraq for any extended period of time," the Republican from Alabama said.

The senator's comments were the latest signal from Bush's Republican allies in Congress that they are looking for a change of course in Iraq by the fall after having stood by the president in the past.