WASHINGTON, Nov. 30 (UPI) -- The bipartisan Iraq Study Group will recommend that most U.S. combat forces be pulled out of Iraq by early 2008, the Washington Post reported.
The newspaper, citing sources who did not want to be identified because the report is not scheduled to be released until next week, said the group will also recommend that the military begin embedding U.S. soldiers with Iraqi forces, starting almost immediately.
"It's really about transitioning from a combat to a support role, and basically making very clear that this is no longer an open-ended commitment and we're going to get this done whether the Iraqis like it or not," one source told the Post. "Everybody understands that we're at the end of the road here."
The New York Times earlier reported that the panel avoided a specific timetable for a troop withdrawal. The newspaper said the report recommends, however, that President George W. Bush "make it clear that he intends to start the withdrawal relatively soon."
The 10-member panel was led by James A. Baker III, who served as secretary of state under former President George H.W. Bush, and former Rep. Lee Hamilton, D-Ind.
The 2008 date is reportedly not a firm one but conditional and dependent on the circumstances in Iraq.
