Bush Expected to Announce U.S. Troop Reduction in Iraq

WASHINGTON – President Bush will announce his decision on future troops levels in Iraq next week, and is expected to largely follow the recommendations of his military leaders to cut troop levels there by up to 8,000 by mid-January.

The closely held plan forwarded by top Pentagon advisers calls for keeping 15 combat brigades in Iraq until the end of the year, according to senior defense officials. It would also send a small Marine contingent to Afghanistan in November to replace one of two units slated to head home then.

Bush is scheduled to make remarks Tuesday at the National Defense University in Washington. And White House press secretary Dana Perino says he has been talking with his national security team and will be consulting with members of Congress.

Under the Pentagon recommendations, one combat brigade — numbering between 3,500 to 4,000 troops — will leave Iraq after the first of the year and will not be replaced. In addition, at least one Marine battalion will leave and not be replaced, as well as a few thousand support forces, defense officials said.

Those forces could include military police officers and other support troops that went to Iraq over the past year to support the large military build up ordered by Bush in early 2006 to quell the growing violence.

The new plan being reviewed by Bush may disappoint some Congress members and others who expected a larger, faster reduction of troops in Iraq, considering the significant downturn in violence. According to defense officials, violence has plunged by about 80 percent since last year's peak.

Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, delivered his recommendations to military leaders about two weeks ago. He had initially argued to maintain the current force levels in Iraq — about 146,000 troops, including 15 combat brigades and thousands of support forces — through June, according to defense officials.

Officials discussed details of the plan on condition of anonymity because Bush has not yet made a final decision.

"The question on the president's mind has been, 'How do we make sure that we cement those gains and not jeopardize those gains and be able to continue the process of return on success?'" said Perino.