By Andrew Gray
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States expects to haveabout 140,000 troops in Iraq even after completing a planneddrawdown of combat forces in July, the Pentagon said on Monday.
The forecast, which prompted swift criticism fromDemocrats, means there will still be 8,000 more U.S. troops inIraq than when President George W. Bush ordered a surge ofextra forces in January 2007 to curb violence.
Army Lt. Gen. Carter Ham, director of operations for theU.S. military's Joint Staff, also said it was too soon topredict if troop numbers could go below the pre-surge level of132,000 any time this year.
"In Iraq, we're now projecting approximately 140,000 troopsthere in July," Ham told reporters at the Pentagon.
"There certainly is full expectation that there will befurther reductions," he said. "When those will begin and atwhat pace they will continue -- it's premature at this point totalk about that."
There are currently some 158,000 U.S. troops in Iraq.
Extra U.S. troops, co-opting of former Sunni insurgents anda cease-fire ordered by radical Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadrhave all helped reduce violence in Iraq substantially fromlevels that were close to all-out civil war, analysts say.
But commanders in Iraq have urged a cautious approach tocutting troop numbers, saying security gains remain fragile andviolence too high.
PAUSE PROBABLE
Defence Secretary Robert Gates has backed the idea of apause in drawdowns after the United States completes thewithdrawal of five combat brigades and other units -- a totalof about 21,000 troops -- by July.
While the extra combat forces will not be replaced, some8,000 other troops including headquarters staff, militarypolice, aviation specialists and logistics forces look set tostay in Iraq or be replaced by similar units, Ham indicated.
Many of those troops are required to assist Iraqi soldiersand support a U.S. combat force which would be thinner on theground and may need more backup from the air, Ham said.
"There is an opportunity now to take advantage of thesecurity that has been established by the five surge brigadesand you want to sustain that and not jeopardize the gains thathave been achieved," he said.
But Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic speaker of the House ofRepresentatives, said it was clear the surge was not thetemporary measure first portrayed by the Bush administration.
"As we approach the fifth anniversary of the Iraq war,Americans continue to demand a new direction in Iraq and rejecta continuation of the president's plan for a 10-year,trillion-dollar war in Iraq," Pelosi said in a statement.
Ham also said the number of U.S. forces in Afghanistan isexpected to climb to an all-time high of 32,000 troops by latesummer, from about 28,000 today.
Amid concern in Washington about rising violence inAfghanistan, the Pentagon said in January it would send some3,200 Marines to train Afghan forces and fight Talibaninsurgents in the country's restive south.
