US plans to cut troops in Iraq by a third next year

The Pentagon is planning to withdraw up to a third of the 160,000 US troops in Iraq by the end of next year, barring serious deterioration of security.

The first three of the 18 combat brigades in the country could be pulled out early next year if the 15 December parliamentary elections go relatively smoothly. The speed of the pull-out would depend on whether newly trained Iraqi forces can shoulder a greater responsibility for security.

The disclosure, in The Washington Post, is further proof that despite President George Bush's insistence that the US will "stay the course" in Iraq, growing domestic opposition to the war is making a substantial force reduction all but inevitable.

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