US considers 50pc troop reduction in Iraq
WASHINGTON - The White House is working on what officials describe as several “concepts” for reducing the number of US combat troops in Iraq by as much as 50 percent next year, The New York Times reported on its website late Friday. Citing unnamed senior administration officials, the newspaper said the concepts could lower US troop levels in Iraq to roughly 100,000 by the time the 2008 US presidential election moves into high gear.
They would also greatly scale back the mission that President George W. Bush set for the US military when he ordered it in January to win back control of Baghdad and Anbar Province, the report said.
The mission would instead focus on the training of Iraqi troops and fighting Al Qaeda while removing Americans from many of the counter-insurgency efforts inside Baghdad.
But there is no indication that Bush is preparing to call an early end to the current troop increase, The Times said.
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