More US troops may be withdrawn from Iraq

US Defence Secretary Robert Gates today raised the possibility of cutting US troop levels in Iraq to 100,000 or so by the end of next year, well beyond the cuts President George Bush has approved.

Stressing that he was expressing his hope, not an administration plan, Gates said it was possible conditions in Iraq could improve enough to merit much deeper troop cuts than are currently scheduled for 2008.

Asked at a news conference whether he was referring to going from today’s level of about 169,000 to about 100,000 US troops by the end of next year, Gates replied: “That would be the math.”

Bush announced yesterday that he had approved a plan recommended by General David Petraeus, the top US commander in Iraq, to reduce from 20 combat brigades to 15 brigades by July next year.

Gates said it was too early for Petraeus or others to forecast with confidence any additional cuts.

Petraeus said he planned to make a further assessment and recommendations next March.

“My hope is that when he does his assessment in March that General Petraeus will be able to say that he thinks that the pace of the drawdowns can continue at the same rate in the second half of the year as in the first half of the year,” Gates said.

The Defence Secretary confirmed that he was referring to cutting from the projected level of 15 combat brigades in July to 10 brigades at the end of 2008, and that this would translate to roughly 100,000 troops.