British Memo Shows US Hopes For Rapid Iraq Drawdown

British Defense Secretary John Reid did not deny that the memo was genuine, although he said it represented only "prudent planning" for one possible scenario. But for the first time it puts a tentative timeline on the strategy President Bush described in a keynote speech last month: "As the Iraqis stand up, we will stand down." ALLY'S VIEW Although the memo comes from across the Atlantic, there is little reason to doubt it gives a fair view of U.S. thinking. Washington's closest ally has been well appraised of U.S. strategy since Britain sent 45,000 troops to back the invasion. As it stands, the current U.S.-led multinational force in Iraq is made up of six divisions totaling 160,000 troops. Poland and Britain command one each in the mainly Shi'ite south, which has been comparatively quiet since a Shi'ite uprising was put down in August last year. The British memo says London would turn over its territory to Iraqis early next year. Washington now has four divisions of its own, one in Baghdad and three in restive areas of the west, northeast and center of the country, all of which have seen violence from an ongoing insurgency of Sunni Arabs. Cutting back to 66,000 troops would leave manpower for just two full U.S. divisions. Enough, probably, to prevent Iraqi militia from contemplating all-out sectarian war, but not enough to participate in day-to-day patrolling of most of the country. http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2005-07-10T114330Z_01_N10447078_RTRIDST_0_NEWS-IRAQ-WITHDRAWAL-DC.XML [Proofreader's note: this article was edited for spelling and typos on July 11, 2005]

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