By SPA
Washington : U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates is traveling to Australia on Thursday to discuss the new Labor government’s plans as it reduces its combat forces in Iraq, U.S. defense officials said.
Gates stopped in Hawaii for the shoot-down of a dying U.S. spy satellite late Wednesday by a U.S. warship and planned to visit another U.S. ship involved in tracking the satellite.
The defense chief then begins a global trip that includes stops in Indonesia, India, and Turkey.
Gates’ three-day visit to Australia comes days after its government, a strong U.S. ally, announced it will withdraw one-third of its 1,500 troops in Iraq later this year as part of a broader shift in its military posture.
Iraq and Afghanistan will be among a range of security matters on the agenda when Gates and U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte meet with their Australian counterparts Saturday and Sunday for an annual review of their relations.