Gates: I'll move troops out of harm's way

WASHINGTON, Feb. 11 (UPI) -- U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates told Congress that he will move U.S. troops "out of harm's way" if the surge of new soldiers in Iraq is unsuccessful.

"I would be irresponsible if I weren't thinking about what the alternatives might be," Gates told the Senate Armed Services Committee, the Times of London reported. The Pentagon is developing a change of strategy should one be required, he said.

"We are hoping it (the surge) will succeed, planning for it to succeed, allocating the resources for it to succeed," he said, the Times reported.

His remarks came as U.S. troops and Iraqi security forces are attempting to institute a new security plan in Baghdad.

Gates said that at least one Iraqi brigade showed up at 55 percent or 60 percent of its full strength, which the defense secretary said was not "good enough."

Military historian Frederick Kagan told the Times that Gates may have been trying to placate members of Congress who have been "boxing the administration around the ears for years for not having a Plan B."