Plan would keep 3,000 U.S. troops in Iraq

WASHINGTON, Sept. 7 (UPI) -- U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta supports a plan to keep 3,000 to 4,000 U.S. troops in Iraq after this year's withdrawal deadline, a military official said.

The plan, one of at least two plans The New York Times reported the administration is considering, would break a longstanding pledge by President Barack Obama to withdraw all U.S. forces by year's end.

The troops would remain to train Iraqi security forces, the senior military official told the Times.

Another plan, presented at the Pentagon in recent weeks by senior U.S. commander in Iraq Gen. Lloyd Austin, would keep as many as 14,000 to 18,000 troops there, the Times said.

Neither the White House nor the Iraqi government has approved the proposal for the smaller force, and approval is not certain, the Times said.

Panetta told reporters Tuesday no decisions had been made about how many U.S. troops would remain in Iraq after this year.

State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland reiterated the administration's pledge to reduce the number of U.S. troops to zero by the end of the year.

"I think our public position, our private position, hasn't changed, that our plan is to withdraw by the end of the year," she said

Fox News Channel, which first reported the Panetta-supported recommendation, said the number of troops would likely be 3,000. Fox said senior commanders were livid about the reduction because they said Iraq was not yet able to provide for its own security.

About 45,000 U.S. troops are stationed in Iraq.

Tension over the troop withdrawal reflects mounting pressures to cut costs of fighting unpopular wars, not only in Iraq but also in Afghanistan as the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks approaches, Fox News and the Times said.

Even as the military reduces its troop strength in Iraq, the CIA will continue to have a major presence in the country, as will security contractors working for the State Department, officials said.