The top U.S. commander in Iraq backed away on Wednesday from his prediction that a substantial pullout of U.S. troops could begin by next spring, as the White House undertakes a new campaign to win public support for the war effort. Gen. George Casey’s latest assessment came as President Bush — down in the polls and criticized for his hurricane response — starts to turn his focus back to the fight against terrorism and to Iraq, the issues that helped him win re-election last year. Full Story