Defense chief tells Marines that US troop levels might drop after ...
70114
The United States may be able to reduce its troop levels in Iraq after the January elections if security improves and Iraqi government
151134
The top US commander in Iraq considers cutting troop numbers by about 4,000, media reports say.
266293
Military officials say the increased American force level will begin declining in August unless additional units are sent or more units are held over.
93183
However, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates emphasized in two television interviews today that American troops would play an increasingly limited role in Iraq.
118589
The chairman of the military&#039;s Joint Chiefs of Staff said Monday &quot;it would be premature for me to judge&quot; the outcome of a Pentagon investigation into the killing of as many as a dozen Iraqi civilians by Marines.
458620
Defense officials are not ruling out the possibility that they will need more U.S. troops to secure January's elections in increasingly violent Iraq, but believe Iraqi and perhaps international troops may be able to do the job instead, a top general said Wednesday.
735028
As President Bush weighs new strategies for Iraq, the Army's top general warned Thursday that his force "will break" without thousands more active duty troops and greater use of the reserves.
26001
The Marine Corps may need to increase in size to sustain deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan without sacrificing needed training or putting undue stress on the corps, the new Marine commandant said Wednesday.
308243
The top U.S. general and diplomat in Iraq are expected to argue against a major decrease in troop levels for now in much-awaited testimony to Congress on Monday, but leading Democrats said the administration was pursuing a failed strategy.
54619
AL ASAD AIR BASE, Iraq - The United States may be able to reduce its troop levels in Iraq after this country's January elections if security improves and local forces continue to expand and become more effective, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld says...
267089
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.
3907
US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld told marines in Iraq&#39;s restive western provinces today to expect a spike in violence before January polls and that US forces would stay at current levels at least until next year.
459075
One day after President Bush announced a limited drawdown of U.S. troops from Iraq by next summer, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said yesterday that it might be possible to reduce U.S. forces there further over the course of next year, down to approximately 100,000 troops by the end of 2008.
351722
The top U.S. general and diplomat in Iraq are expected on Monday to argue against any major decrease in U.S. troop levels for now because this could undercut any progress made under the "surge" of forces into Iraq this year, a U.S. official said on Sunday.
170773
The new commandant of the US marines says the force may need to increase to meet commitments.
359973
Four months after announcing troop cuts in Iraq, President Bush is now sending signals that the reductions may not continue past this summer.
299257
The top U.S. commander in the Gulf  region sees the role of U.S. troops in Iraq possibly shifting  as early as next year to focus less on combat and more on  training Iraqi security forces, The Washington Post reported on  Tuesday.