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U.S. May Put Troop Drawdown On 'Brief' Hold This Summer

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Los Angeles Times

Published: February 12, 2008

BAGHDAD - Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Monday endorsed the idea of a pause in the drawdown of U.S. troops this summer, as bombers killed at least 22 Iraqis in attacks targeting U.S.-allied tribal leaders.

Gates' comments came after a meeting with the commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus, who favors a temporary break in the troop reduction after the last of five extra brigades leave as planned in July. The brigades were deployed in 2007 to quell Iraq's bloodshed, and their departure will bring troop levels to about 134,000, the lowest since January 2007.
Bloodshed has eased, but ground commanders such as Petraeus warn that it could surge if troops are pulled out too quickly.

Some senior Pentagon officials favor a drawdown beyond the five brigades to relieve stress on troops, many of whom are on their third or fourth deployments.

Gates previously had expressed hopes that conditions in Iraq would allow withdrawals to continue through the end of 2008, until there were about 100,000 troops in the country, but two hours of talks with Petraeus apparently changed his mind.

Speaking about Petraeus' desire for a pause, Gates said it "probably does make sense" for a "brief period."

He said the ultimate decision lay with President Bush.

Also Monday, two CBS News journalists were missing in the predominantly Shiite southern city of Basra, the network said.

CBS said all efforts were under way to find the journalists, who were not identified by the network. It requested "that others do not speculate on the identities of those involved" until more information was available.
Iraqi police said the journalists were taken away Sunday when masked gunmen entered the Sultan Palace Hotel in central Basra.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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