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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| US may halt Iraq troop reductions | US may halt Iraq troop reductions |
| (30 minutes later) | |
| US Defence Secretary Robert Gates has indicated he may halt troop reductions in Iraq after up to 30,000 American soldiers are sent home this summer. | US Defence Secretary Robert Gates has indicated he may halt troop reductions in Iraq after up to 30,000 American soldiers are sent home this summer. |
| The Pentagon aims to draw down troop numbers in Iraq from 20 to 15 brigades. One brigade has already left and the last of the five is due to go by July. | |
| After meeting the US commander in Iraq, Gen David Petraeus, Mr Gates said he wanted a "period of evaluation". | After meeting the US commander in Iraq, Gen David Petraeus, Mr Gates said he wanted a "period of evaluation". |
| Mr Gates has previously expressed hope 10 brigades could remain by year's end. | Mr Gates has previously expressed hope 10 brigades could remain by year's end. |
| He told reporters at a US base in Baghdad on Monday: "A brief period of consolidation and evaluation probably does make sense. | He told reporters at a US base in Baghdad on Monday: "A brief period of consolidation and evaluation probably does make sense. |
| "In my own thinking I had been kind of headed in that direction as well," he added. | "In my own thinking I had been kind of headed in that direction as well," he added. |
| "But one of the keys is how long is that period [of pause and evaluation] and then what happens after that." | |
| Mr Gates arrived on Sunday on an unannounced visit to assess security in the country following the surge in US troops numbers that was ordered a year ago. | |
| The deployment of an extra 30,000 American personnel in Iraq and the flourishing of Sunni Arab neighbourhood militias that teamed up with the US to fight al-Qaeda militants has been credited with a fall in violence levels in recent months. |