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Content View Hits : 774061| US Hints at Bigger Iraq Pullout |
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| Saturday, 15 September 2007 16:10 | |||
 US Defence Secretary Robert Gates has hinted at bigger cuts to troop numbers in Iraq than those so far approved by Bush.
Gates suggested the current level of more than 160,000 soldiers could be cut to about 100,000 by the end of 2008. Gates said he asked Pace and Adm. William Fallon, the head of U.S. Central Command, to begin examining U.S. options in Iraq months ago, knowing that Petraeus -- the top U.S. commander in Iraq -- was doing the same. "I wanted the president this month to have the benefit of more than one senior military voice as he considered the next steps in Iraq," Gates said. "I also did not want Gen. Petraeus hanging out there all by himself.
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