Gradually cut and slowly run, would this be?

White House Debate Rises on Iraq Pullback - New York Times:

inside the administration, debate is intensifying over whether Mr. Bush should try to prevent more defections by announcing his intention to begin a gradual withdrawal of American troops from the high-casualty neighborhoods of Baghdad and other cities.

Well. I never bought in to the "cut and run" talking point to begin with so this doesn't mean a whole lot to me, although snip and scamper would be the wiser choice, IMHO. Pulling out of Iraq right now will leave a horrible mess behind and we will have much to atone for, we will be paying for Republican boneheadedness for a long, long time, but staying longer will just make things worse and run up the bill.

And anyway we all know what "gradual withdrawal" means: stall, and let the next president take the heat.