Iraq eyes big drop in foreign forces by end-2008
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Foreign troop levels in Iraq could drop to less than 100,000 by the end of 2008 if Iraq's own forces were ready and security threats had diminished, Iraq's national security adviser said on Wednesday.
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The number of foreign fighters entering Iraq from Syria has decreased noticeably in recent months, corresponding to a similar decrease in suicide bombings and other attacks by the group al-Qaeda in Iraq, according to U.S. military and intelligence officials.
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Prime Minister Tony Blair announced Wednesday that British troop numbers in southern Iraq would be reduced from 7,100 to 5,500 in the months ahead.
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Poland will significantly reduce its number of troops in Iraq by the end of 2005, the country&#39;s defense minister said on Monday.
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Iran is funneling weapons and cash to   buy the loyalty of armed groups in Iraq, but its long- term   influence is bound to wane as Iraqis focus more on their own   interests, a senior U.S. military official said.
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Britain will reduce its contingent of just over 7,000 troops in Iraq by almost half in May as it hands the main province of Basra over to Iraqi army and security forces, a newspaper reported.
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Despite stepped-up training, the readiness of the Iraqi military to operate independently of U.S. forces has decreased since President Bush's new strategy was launched in January, according to the White House progress report released yesterday.
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Army Gen. John P. Abizaid raised the possibility that forces in Iraq could start to be reshaped as early as next year to reduce the number of combat troops and concentrate on the development of Iraqi security forces.
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Violence in Iraq is down, but Iraq needs to take advantage of that.
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British Prime Minister Tony Blair said on Wednesday that Britain would reduce its troop levels in Iraq by 1,600 over coming months, but its soldiers would stay in the country into 2008 as long as they were wanted.
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Iraq's economy is weaker than at any point since the US invasion in 2003.
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Britain, America's most important ally in Iraq, will withdraw close to half its troops by the end of the year if local troops are able to secure the southern part of the country, Prime Minister Tony Blair was expected to announce Wednesday.
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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.
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The number of UK troops in Iraq by the end of 2007 is expected to be lower "by thousands", the defence secretary says.
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British Prime Minister Tony Blair said  on Wednesday that Britain would reduce its troop levels in Iraq  by 1,600 over coming months, but its soldiers would stay in the  country into 2008 as long as they were wanted.
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Poland will withdraw its troops from Iraq by the end of 2005, Polish Defense Minister Jerzy Szmajdzinski said on Monday. &quot;In my opinion, the deadline (for Poland&#39;s mission) should
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President Jalal Talabani said Wednesday that Iraqi forces will take over security in all provinces in the country by the end of the year. U.S. forces currently are responsible for security in 17 of Iraq's 18 provinces.