By Xinhua
Washington : A plan to reduce US troops in Iraq from the present 158,000 to about 100,000 by the end of 2008 is on schedule, Defence Secretary Robert Gates said at a press conference.
However, he emphasised many developments could affect that plan, and he left open the possibility that the US may need to add troops in Afghanistan.
Current Pentagon plan calls for reducing the 20 combat brigades in Iraq to 15 by next summer, which would leave roughly 130,000 US troops there.
Gates said Friday the brigades could be pared to 10 by the end of 2008, if the security conditions keep improving. In that case, the US will leave about 100,000 troops in place.
Gates also said the Congress’ decision to approve only $70 billion for combat operations before ending the work of the year means the Pentagon “will again face the risk of running out of money”.
The Bush administration recently took credit for the reducing levels of violence in Iraq, but is still careful about how the situation there would evolve.