WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said Friday that he hoped to cut the U.S. force in Iraq to nearly half its current size by the end of 2008, a more dramatic reduction than President Bush endorsed this week and a new indication of divergent viewpoints within the administration and the military.
Bush and Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, proposed modest reductions to bring U.S. troop levels to between 130,000 and 140,000 by July. Although Petraeus said additional reductions were possible by the end of next year, Gates went further Friday and said he hoped troop levels would drop to 100,000. There are 20 ground combat brigades, or 169,000 troops, in Iraq.
Gates, an early skeptic of the troop buildup that began this year, took pains Friday to emphasize that the Bush administration's top military advisors agreed on how to proceed in Iraq. But Gates' comments reflect underlying rifts within the military, between commanders in the field and those at the Pentagon, as the war enters its latest phase.
Petraeus has favored higher troop numbers to back U.S. military aims, while Gates and other military leaders have expressed a preference for lower numbers out of concern for readiness, training and recruitment, according to administration and military officials.
Though military officials have agreed on a strategy for the next six months, the compromise faces a test early next year, when the Pentagon and the White House reopen the question of troop cuts.
"This is one of those cases that where you stand on an issue depends on where you sit in the bureaucracy," said a senior military official stationed in Baghdad, speaking on condition of anonymity when discussing internal debates.
The differences emerged at the end of a week in which Bush and his top military and civilian leaders in Iraq outlined their vision of the future, and just before Congress is to restart a debate over the war, with Democrats considering ways to force Bush to make faster, more drastic troop reductions. Gates' support for steeper cuts will probably play into the debate over how fast and far to reduce force levels.
Bush and Petraeus want a reduction of at least 21,500 by July, and plan to decide in March whether levels can be reduced further. Both said they would like additional reductions, but have steadfastly refused to commit to further cuts. Officers in Iraq fear that hasty U.S. withdrawals will lead a collapse of the Iraqi military.
