U.S. President George W. Bush may announce a decision on the troop levels in Iraq next week, White House said on Friday.
White House spokeswoman Dana Perino told reporters that the president would "likely" make his announcement next week but it would not come with the U.S.-Iraq strategic agreement.
"I don't think that they're going to be coupled. We still have some things to work out with them (Iraqi government officials)," the spokeswoman said.
According to defense officials, Bush was recommended by Pentagon senior officials to make only modest cuts in the U.S. troop levels in Iraq early next year and shift forces to Afghanistan with rising violence.
A New York Times report on Friday said that the White House is planning to cut number of the U.S. combat brigades in Iraq from 15 to 14 and the overall size of the force by about 8,000 persons by next March.
A separate report from the Washington Post also said that defense officials considered the recommendation as a compromise between those who believed that security gains in Iraq remained too tenuous to contemplate further withdrawals now, and those who proposed continuing reductions that began this spring.
Bush's announcement is coming as U.S. commanders in Afghanistan are preparing for a possible winter campaign by Taliban and other rebels this year that will lead to higher violence.
Admiral Michael Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Defense Secretary Robert Gates are set to testify on a Congress hearing next week, where they will detail about their recommendation on the U.S. troop levels in Iraq.
Source: Xinhua
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