By NNN-PTI
Washington : US is likely to withdraw more troops from Iraq before President George W Bush’s term ends January next year.
“We anticipate further reductions because we have confidence in the way things are going now,” a senior administration official said.
The official dismissed suspicions that a pause in withdrawals announced by Defence Secretary Robert Gates this summer would freeze US force levels until the next president takes office.
“The temporary halt would last just four to six weeks to assess conditions on the ground, ” the unnamed official was quoted as saying by The Washington Post today.
“This is not a stall tactic,” he said. “I fully expect further reductions this year, in ’08, and so does the president. It’s just a question of when will the reductions be announced, when will they take effect . . . And what will be the pace.”
Defence Secretary Robert M Gates said last month that he was in favour of reducing force in Iraq from 1,58,000 now to 1,00,000 by the end of 2008.