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U.S. To Reduce Iraq Troop Numbers

The U.S. Department of Defense has announced plans to reduce the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan by about 2,500 over the next few months, a 13 percent drop that will reflect an increasing NATO presence there, officials said yesterday. The move, which has yet to be finalized, would reduce the number of U.S. forces from 19,000 to about 16,500.

Officials also said plans to reduce the number of U.S. troops in Iraq are likely to go forward following last week`s Iraqi election. The planned reduction, first reported last month, could bring the number of U.S. troops in Iraq to about 129,000 from a baseline of 138,000. There are approximately 150,000 U.S. troops there now. The moves come as Congress has grown more vocal about making 2006 a year of transition in the war zones, with allies taking more of a role in security.

While cautioning that the plans are under discussion, officials in Iraq and Washington said that the number of U.S. combat brigades likely will decline from 17 to 15 in the spring, a measured reduction designed to give Iraqis more responsibility over their own security needs. George W. Casey Jr., commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, said Friday he expects the troop level there to be down to about 140,000 by the end of January.