Dude, no one was actually listening to you . . .

[bigtree]

Gates rows back from 100,000 target for US troops in Iraq



WASHINGTON (AFP) - Defense Secretary Robert Gates Sunday backed off a suggestion that US forces in Iraq could go down to 100,000 troops next year as Democrats battled for a faster exit from the war-torn nation.

Both sides of the political fracture in Washington were girding for a new week of clashes in Congress over Iraq strategy after President George W. Bush announced a limited drawdown of troops last Thursday.

Gates played down his suggestion made Friday that US forces in Iraq could be cut to about 100,000 by the end of 2008, from their current level of nearly 170,000.

"What I said was I hoped the conditions would improve in Iraq to the extent that not only could we complete the drawdowns that General (David) Petraeus would like to make, but we would continue thereafter," Gates said on Fox News.

"So everything depends on the conditions on the ground."


http://www.brunei-online.com/bb/tue/sep18w27.htm