U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates cautioned Tuesday that the next president needs to proceed with cautions when withdrawing more troops from Iraq.
Testifying before a Senate panel, Gates warned that the improvement of situation in Iraq could "override a measure of caution" on the issue of troop withdrawal.
"No matter what you think about the origins of the war in Iraq, we must get the endgame there right," he said.
Gates said both presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain should look at U.S. President George W. Bush's recent decision to withdraw some 8,000 troops from Iraq before February, which he believes to be a "right direction" and "a right action."
He urged both candidates, if elected president, to be "cautious and flexible and take into account the advice of our senior commanders and military leaders," when formulating their decisions on the issue of troop withdrawal.
There are still some 146,000 U.S. troops in Iraq, 5 and a half years after the start of the war.
Source:Xinhua
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