By Andrew Gray
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Top U.S. defence officials gavePresident George W. Bush their views this week on the pace andsize of future U.S. troop cuts in Iraq after a substantial dropin violence there, officials said on Thursday.
Officials declined to detail the recommendations, whichcome after a 45-day assessment conducted by U.S. Army Gen.David Petraeus, the top commander of U.S. forces in Iraq.
"The president is now considering his options, and I wouldexpect that as he works through that, as soon as he's finishedwith it, we'll be able to provide you more information," WhiteHouse spokeswoman Dana Perino said.
Defence Secretary Robert Gates and Adm. Mike Mullen,chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, briefed Bush on therecommendations in a videoconference on Wednesday afternoon,according to Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell.
"Secretary Gates and Chairman Mullen presented PresidentBush with their recommendations on how many additional forcescould be safely taken out and how soon," Morrell said.
He said Gates, Mullen, Petraeus and Army Lt. Gen MartinDempsey, the acting head of the U.S. military headquarters foroperations in the Middle East, were all "fundamentally inagreement" on how to proceed in Iraq.
There are some 146,000 U.S. troops in Iraq and Petraeus iswidely expected to sanction some withdrawals before the end ofthis year as violence in Iraq has declined substantially.
Petraeus asked for a freeze in troop cuts this summer totake stock after the withdrawal of five extra combat brigadesdeployed in 2007 to quell rampant sectarian violence.
U.S. officials are also keen to reduce troop numbers inIraq so they can provide more forces for Afghanistan, whereinsurgent violence is on the rise. The United States has some33,000 troops in Afghanistan.
But decisions on any large-scale withdrawal from Iraq willlikely fall to Bush's successor, either Republican John McCainor Democrat Barack Obama. Obama has promised to withdraw combattroops within 16 months if he wins the November election, whileMcCain opposes any set timeline.
The next president takes office in January.
Perino suggested news on future troop levels could comewhen Gates and Mullen testify on before Congress next week.
"I would expect that they would talk about troop levels inIraq there," she told reporters.
Gates and Mullen are due to appear before the House ofRepresentatives Armed Services Committee next Wednesday todiscuss security and stability in both Iraq and Afghanistan.
(Additional reporting by Jeremy Pelofsky; Editing byKristin Roberts and David Wiessler)
