Pentagon May Suggest Short-Term Buildup Leading to Iraq Exit
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The Pentagon's closely guarded review of how to improve the situation in Iraq has outlined three basic options: Send in more troops, shrink the force but stay longer, or pull out, according to senior defense officials.
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Chances for the United States to reduce its military forces in Iraq within one year will depend on security on the ground and advances in US diplomacy, US Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry said.
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Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates backed away slightly yesterday from his Friday statement that U.S. troop levels in Iraq could go as low as 100,000 by the end of next year, and he signaled that the Bush administration would go into a wait-and-see mode on Iraq for another six months.
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Pentagon planners were beginning meetings Friday to determine which units will be leaving Iraq in the next 10 months.
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Australia will review its troop deployment to Iraq by the end of this year, the defense ministry said Wednesday, the first time the government has hinted at a possible timeline for eventual withdrawal.
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The meeting is a possible sign that the United States is exploring new options in Iraq.
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Defense secretary endorses the idea of pausing the drawdown of U.S. forces from Iraq this summer.
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Editor's note: This is the first of a two-part series on the Pentagon's plan to withdraw troops from stations abroad.
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BAGHDAD, Feb. 11 -- U.S. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said Monday that it "probably does make sense" to "pause" troop withdrawals from Iraq late this summer, after the last of the forces sent in as part of an offensive surge have gone home.
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The Pentagon backs a pause in the drawdown of troops next summer to assess its impact on Iraqi security
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WASHINGTON -- Two days before he resigned from the Pentagon, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld sent the White House a classified memo recommending "a major adjustment" in Iraq strategy and acknowledging slow progress there.
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The U.S. military is weighing new directions for Iraq, including an even bigger troop buildup if President Bush thinks his "surge" strategy needs a further boost, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Monday.
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The U.S. military, seeking to   maintain its current elevated troop levels in Iraq, intends to   delay the upcoming departure of roughly 3,500 soldiers serving   in the Ramadi area, defense officials said on Monday.
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Officials are considering seeking a change in Pentagon policy that would allow for longer and more frequent call-ups of some reservists.
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In April 2003, as the US-led invasion of Iraq was ending, the Pentagon projected in a formal planning effort that the US military occupation of the country would end this month.
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President Bush said on Tuesday he was considering a short-term U.S. troop increase in Iraq, but a spokesman denied reports of a rift with Pentagon chiefs said to oppose the idea.
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WASHINGTON -- The Pentagon may bolster US forces in Iraq for the January elections by delaying the departure of some troops and speeding the arrival of others, US officials said yesterday.