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Obama to reveal Iraq pullout plan Obama to reveal Iraq pullout plan
(9 minutes later)
President Barack Obama is expected to announce his plan to withdraw most US troops from Iraq by August 2010.President Barack Obama is expected to announce his plan to withdraw most US troops from Iraq by August 2010.
The move is said to envisage reducing troop levels from the current 142,000 to some 50,000 by that time.The move is said to envisage reducing troop levels from the current 142,000 to some 50,000 by that time.
Mr Obama is reported to have told members of Congress that that number is needed to stay to advise Iraqi forces and protect American interests.Mr Obama is reported to have told members of Congress that that number is needed to stay to advise Iraqi forces and protect American interests.
During his election campaign he vowed to pull out US troops within 16 months of taking the top job. Some Democrats are concerned that the timetable may fall short of his election vow to withdraw troops.
Mr Obama had said he would pull out troops within 16 months of taking the top job.
Earlier this month, he ordered the deployment of up to 17,000 extra US troops to Afghanistan.Earlier this month, he ordered the deployment of up to 17,000 extra US troops to Afghanistan.
The president said the soldiers had been due to go to Iraq but were being redirected to "meet urgent security needs".The president said the soldiers had been due to go to Iraq but were being redirected to "meet urgent security needs".
'Too many' Middle way
Mr Obama is expected to make his announcement in Camp Lejuene in North Carolina.Mr Obama is expected to make his announcement in Camp Lejuene in North Carolina.
FROM THE TODAY PROGRAMME More from Today programmeFROM THE TODAY PROGRAMME More from Today programme
The plan is a middle way between the speedy reduction he envisaged during his election campaign and the slower one some military leaders may prefer, BBC North America editor Justin Webb says.The plan is a middle way between the speedy reduction he envisaged during his election campaign and the slower one some military leaders may prefer, BBC North America editor Justin Webb says.
President Obama wants only two combat brigades to leave this year but after December elections in Iraq the pace should quicken with the total force down to 50,000 by the summer of 2010, our editor says.President Obama wants only two combat brigades to leave this year but after December elections in Iraq the pace should quicken with the total force down to 50,000 by the summer of 2010, our editor says.
Already some Democrats are expressing concern that the troop withdrawal may have been watered down.
Speaking before Mr Obama briefed Congressional leaders behind closed doors on Thursday, Democratic Speaker Nancy Pelosi said 50,000 troops seemed too many for a residual force and needed to be justified.
John McHugh, the top Republican on the House armed services committee, said after the briefing that Mr Obama had promised the pullout strategy would be revisited if violence in Iraq increased.
UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband, who has been visiting Iraq, said he had found a "real yearning... for Iraqis to run their own affairs, to make their own mistakes but also to make their own progress".UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband, who has been visiting Iraq, said he had found a "real yearning... for Iraqis to run their own affairs, to make their own mistakes but also to make their own progress".
"However, it's clear that there is massive training function to be done on the security side, that's what Americans are going to focus on after the middle of next year," he told the BBC's Today programme."However, it's clear that there is massive training function to be done on the security side, that's what Americans are going to focus on after the middle of next year," he told the BBC's Today programme.
The UK is due to end its own military operations in Iraq by 31 May, with only a few hundred troops set to remain for training purposes.The UK is due to end its own military operations in Iraq by 31 May, with only a few hundred troops set to remain for training purposes.
'Too many'
Democrats have expressed concern that the troop withdrawal is being watered down. Mr Obama briefed Republicans and Democrats before the announcement
Speaking before Mr Obama briefed Congressional leaders on Thursday, Democratic Speaker Nancy Pelosi said 50,000 troops seemed too many for a residual force and needed to be justified.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, also a Democrat, said before the briefing: "When they talk about 50,000, that's a little higher number than I had anticipated."
John McHugh, the top Republican on the House armed services committee, said after the briefing that Mr Obama had promised the pullout strategy would be revisited if violence in Iraq increased.
Nathan Freier, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, believes that Mr Obama has decided on a modest withdrawal that still allows him to adjust the time frame as conditions merit.
"You have to recognise that the conflict, to some extent, will persist in Iraq for the foreseeable future," he told the Associated Press.
"But the idea of decreasing the US commitment to the theatre is an indication that the American component of the war is ending. It is ending over time, but it is coming to an end."