A combat brigade of 5,000 U.S. troops may be brought home early from Iraq if the trend of reduced violence holds, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Wednesday.
It was the first suggestion that the Obama administration might rethink its decision to keep as many forces in Iraq as possible this year. Obama has settled on a gradual withdrawal plan despite his opposition to the war as a candidate.
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said later that “conditions on the ground” will dictate any quickening of the withdrawal pace.
Earlier in the day, Gates told reporters aboard a Defense Department plane, “I think there’s at least some chance of a modest acceleration” in troop withdrawal this year.
U.S. officials had worried that last month’s formal hand over of control of Iraqi cities to Iraqi security forces might erode gains already made.
But Gates said Gen. Ray Odierno, the top U.S. general in Iraq, told Gates that the security situation is better than expected.
Attacks directed at Iraqi civilians spiked in a rash of bombings for about 10 days leading up to the formal withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from Iraqi cities on June 30, but violence overall has hovered at far lower levels than previous years.
The United States has about 130,000 forces in Iraq, with current plans calling for most combat forces — or more than 100,000 troops — to remain in the country until after Iraqi national elections in January.
It was largely because of Odierno’s concerns that the coming Iraqi election would trigger a rebound in violence that President Barack Obama decided on a slow withdrawal.
The Iraqi government welcomed the news of a speedier withdrawal and said government security forces were working toward the same goal but needed more arms as well as training.
“This also must coincide with the speedier training and arming of the Iraqi security forces,” government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said. “We are ready to take over. The faster the U.S. troops withdraw, the faster we can fill in the gaps.”
Continued bad blood between Iraq’s Arab-led central government and the self-ruled Kurdish region in the north represents the major wild card to a faster pullout. Concern is growing that north-south tensions over land and resources could turn into combat once U.S. forces leave.
Gates spent much of his two-day visit in Iraq warning both sides that U.S. forces will not be around to keep the peace forever, and he offered U.S. help to mediate.
