US to withdraw 7,000 troops from Iraq
Foreign Desk Report

FALLUJAH (Iraq)—Just days after Iraq’s elections, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld on Friday announced the first of what is likely to be a series of U.S. combat troop drawdowns in Iraq in 2006. Rumsfeld, addressing U.S. troops at this former insurgent stronghold, said President Bush has authorized new cuts below the 138,000 level that has prevailed for most of this year. Rumsfeld did not reveal the exact size of the troop cut, but Pentagon officials have said it could be as much as 7,000 combat troops. The Pentagon has not announced a timetable for troop reductions, but indications are that the force could be cut significantly by the end of 2006. That could include substantial reductions well before the November midterm congressional elections, in which Bush’s war policies seem certain to be a major issue. Rumsfeld said two Army brigades that had been scheduled for combat tours — one from Fort Riley, Kan., the other now in Kuwait — would no longer deploy to Iraq.