The U.S. Government mulls over plans that allow it to begin withdrawing troops from the country
　　
　　It has been three years since the war in Iraq began, but the situation in the country, especially the security, has not improved much. Meanwhile, the world is wondering when U.S. troops will leave, and the American public appears to be getting impatient with the seemingly endless casualty reports. Some groups have held protests, urging the U.S. Government to bring the troops home as early as possible.
　　Now, it seems that Washington is at least considering taking some steps to reduce U.S. troop strength in Iraq.
　　According to a New York Times report in late June, a senior U.S. defense official revealed that the top U.S. commander in Iraq, General George W. Casey, has submitted a plan to Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld for withdrawing troops from Iraq. The White House confirmed the information but said the proposal was just one option.
　　The newspaper reported that Casey had drafted the plan that would reduce U.S. troops in Iraq in September by two of the current 14 combat brigades and then cut to a total of five or six brigades by the end of 2007. A brigade generally has about 3,500 troops, and a combat brigade is usually made up of about 2,000 soldiers.
　　Rumsfeld has yet to sign on Casey’s withdrawal plan but, the senior defense official said, implementation of the plan, if approved, would start after the December 15 Iraqi elections so as not to discourage voters from going to the polls.
　　The plan, which would withdraw a limited amount of troops during 2006, requires that a host of milestones be reached before troops are withdrawn.
　　Top Pentagon officials have repeatedly discussed some of those milestones: Iraqi troops must demonstrate that they can handle security without U.S. help, the country’s political process must be strong, and reconstruction and economic conditions must show signs of stability.
　　
　　Congress’ views
　　
　　Actually, there are different opinions about the withdrawal. Both houses of Congress voted against setting timetables for troop reductions in Iraq.
　　Most Republicans and a number of Democrats in the Senate reject setting any timeline for pulling troops out of Iraq, arguing that to do so would encourage the insurgents, destabilize the country and could threaten U.S. security.
　　Some senators said that there is no need to have a clear plan for Iraq, and what the United States needs to do is to show that it will not stay there forever.
　　They argue that U.S. troops must remain in Iraq to back the new Iraqi Government. The Bush administration is hoping the Iraqi military forces will be able to take over the battle against the insurgents, allowing international troops to begin pulling out.
　　President George W. Bush, who met with General Casey, reiterated that any decision on troop reductions would be based on the situation in Iraq, where a violent insurgency persists more than three years after the U.S.-led invasion.
　　Bush said that U.S. troops in Iraq--about 127,000--will not step down until Iraqi forces are able to take over security for their country.
　　“But in terms of our troop presence there, that decision will be made by General Casey as well as the sovereign government of Iraq based upon conditions on the ground,” Bush said, according to a New York Times report.
　　White House Spokesman Tony Snow said it was not an official decision. “General Casey is assigned the business of making a lot of plans and this is one of the plans that is under consideration,” Snow said. “But for anybody who thinks that this is engraved in stone, it is not.”
　　
　　Merely a plan
　　
　　“The plan is still a plan, it is not a final decision or a law,” said Shen Shishun, Director of Asia-Pacific Studies at the China Institute of International Studies.
　　Shen told Beijing Review that even if the United States started to withdraw from Iraq, it will take a long time to finish the job. “During the process, Washington still can adjust its plan in accordance with the changing situation,” he said.
　　He pointed out that the plan was more like a gesture, showing that American forces will not stay in Iraq forever, facing pressures both inside and outside.
　　As the mid-term election approaches in November, the White House has to think about satisfying the voters.
　　A new Washington Post-ABC News poll found that 47 percent of those surveyed favored setting a deadline for troops to withdraw, up 8 percentage points since last December, while 51 percent opposed a firm timetable, down from 60 percent.
　　Meanwhile, Senate Democrats seized on the timing of Casey’s plan, noting they had spent recent days in Iraq war debates calling for troop withdrawals, and being rebuffed by Republicans.
　　“I don’t think the United States will give up on Iraq, since it has spent so much money, soldiers and even its prestige in the country,” noted Shen.
　　Besides, Iraq can provide the United States with cheap oil, which is widely believed to be a big reason that initiated the war, Shen stated.
　　Although the Americans failed to discover any weapons of mass destruction in Iraq as was claimed before, the United States will keep the country under its control, he added.
　　Iraq is a big and important Muslim country in the Middle East that is part of U.S. global strategy. “The United States believes that many of the countries in the region need democratic reform and reconstruction under the guidance of Western countries, especially the United States,” he told Beijing Review.
　　
　　Allies leave
　　
　　This year, several U.S. allies announced their withdrawals from Iraq.
　　New Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi said in mid-May that he would propose to parliament the withdrawal of the remaining Italian troops from Iraq. Prodi described the war in Iraq as “a grave error,” saying it has not resolved, but has “complicated the security situation.” Although Prodi did not give a specific date for the withdrawal, he said he believed it was just a “technical time frame.”
　　Currently Italy has about 2,600 soldiers in Iraq who are helping with the reconstruction of the country, a reduction from the initial 3,000 troops.
　　Then came Japan, one of the United States’ closest allies. The country ordered the withdrawal of its ground troops from Iraq on June 20.
　　“Today we have decided to withdraw Ground Self-Defense Forces from the Samawah region in Iraq,” Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said in a nationally televised news conference.
　　Koizumi said the troops, deployed in early 2004, had helped to rebuild the infrastructure of the area where they were based, and he pledged further aid to the Iraqi reconstruction.
　　Koizumi has been a vocal supporter of U.S. policy in Iraq, arguing that the dispatch was needed to aid reconstruction, secure oil supplies and bolster ties with Washington. Japan would now consider expanding Air Self-Defense operations in Iraq, he said.
　　Japan has about 600 troops in the city of Samawah in southern Iraq. Although the mission is strictly non-combat and humanitarian, the deployment broke new ground as a symbol of Tokyo’s more assertive military policy.
　　Japan’s Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper reported the pullout is expected to be accomplished by the end of July. The move followed the announcement that Britain and Australia would hand over responsibility for security to Iraqi forces in southern Muthana Province, where the Japanese troops are based.
　　Shen noted that the withdrawals did not mean these countries are trying to keep their distance from Washington.
　　“Actually, U.S. allies have been under pressure for a long time; they hope to quit the mission as soon as possible, if their moves cause no harm to their ties with the United States. They still want to share the benefits from this war, and will strengthen cooperation with the White House in other aspects as well,” Shen said.

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