According to a Hardball report just minutes ago from Tim Russert, President Bush will "call for a permanent security pact with Iraqi Government".
He will say that US troops will remain in Iraq forever.
Bush is a "temp". People should keep that in mind. Of course, he doesn't seem to think of himself as a temp. He is supposed to leave office in 16 months and he is making a "forever" committment in Iraq.
Russert also noted that if Webb's bill limiting the time that military personnel can serve in country, Bush says he'll just call up more National Guard and Reserves.
There is no link to this segment as yet, but I will update this diary when I find supporting material.
Bush will give his speech tonight at 9 pm EDT. Someone asked in the comments and it was a good question.
LINK UPDATE: MSNBC scooped CNN, but CNN is the only one with a link to a preview of the speech and the South Korea model - which has been an ongoing occupation for 50 years and is a situation that has no parity with the issues that we are facing in Iraq - just so ya know - well okay they both involve troops, but that's about it.
CNN: Korea may be Bush's model for Iraq, officials say
The president will compare Iraq to the U.S. deployment on the Korean peninsula in a speech to the nation Thursday night at 9:01 p.m. ET.
During the speech, Bush is also expected to endorse the recommendation of the top U.S. commander in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus, that the U.S. military can begin pulling 30,000 combat troops from Iraq.
But the president will also talk about a long-term commitment to Iraq, the senior officials said, along the lines of the U.S. commitment to South Korea.
VIDEO LINK UPDATE II: Thanks to ksh01 we have another link from Think Progress on Russert's Comments with VIDEO!
LINK TO PREVIEW OF DEMOCRATIC RESPONSE - UDATE III:
Senator Jack Reed
"...An endless and unlimited military presence in Iraq is not an option.
Democrats and Republicans in Congress and throughout the nation can not and must not stand idly by while our interests throughout the world are undermined and our Armed Forces are stretched toward the breaking point.
We intend to exercise our Constitutional duties and profoundly change our military involvement in Iraq..."
Here's hoping that the Congress can defeat The Temp.
UPDATE IV: CURIOUSER AND CURIOUSER Chris Matthews is back on for his 7pm show - which is usually a repeat of the 5pm show - and has Congressmen Duncan Hunter, R-CA, and Jim Moran, D-VA, on to discuss Bush's "Security Pact" with Iraq - which seems to have been named within the last hour and a half or so - and of course Hunter is all for it. Moran is doing a good job knocking the Hunter's "standing up" stuff.
Of course, Hunter is back peddling the plan trying to play it as a much more innocent affair. A pact as opposed to "committment".
Seems like Hunter is saying that rather than being in a marriage, we'll just be friends who f*ck. That seems to be the gist of Hunter's description of the deal Bush wants to strike.
I just hope we don't all get "a little bit pregnant" from this long-term affair.