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Foreign troops in Iraq less than 100,000
by late 2008
12.9.2007
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September
12, 2007
BAGHDAD, -- Foreign troop levels in Iraq
could drop to less than 100,000 by the end of 2008
if Iraq's own forces were ready and security threats
had diminished, Iraq's national security adviser
said on Wednesday.
"Maybe it is not far from the truth if we said that
by the end of next year, multinational forces could
be less than 100,000," Mowaffaq al-Rubaie told a
news conference.
"This all depends on the security circumstances and
the level of the threat, whether from inside the
country or in the region.
This also depends on the level of training of the
Iraqi forces," Rubaie said.
He did not speak specifically about U.S. troop
numbers -- currently at 168,000 -- but the
overwhelming majority of foreign soldiers in Iraq
are American.
Rubaie was speaking following two days of testimony
by the U.S. military commander in Iraq, General
David Petraeus, who has recommended cutting U.S.
forces by about 30,000 by next July because of
reduced violence in Iraq.
That would bring U.S. troop numbers down to around
130,000, roughly the same level before an increase
ordered by U.S. President George W. Bush early this
year.
U.S. force reductions would continue after next
summer, Petraeus said on Monday, adding it would be
premature to make recommendations now on the pace of
such cuts. Such an assessment could be made by March
2008, he said.
Reuters
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