US to Stall Troop Cuts Over Iraqi Elections

But Baghdad vetoed plan for the ballots earlier this week
By Katherine Thompson,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 1, 2008 3:16 PM CST
US to Stall Troop Cuts Over Iraqi Elections
U.S. Marines raise their hands during a ceremony at Camp Victory, Baghdad, Iraq, July 4, 2007. A White House source says that troop reductions will halt after July and not continue for several weeks, more if provincial elections are delayed. (AP Photo/Ali al-Saadi, Pool)   (Associated Press)

US troop cuts in Iraq will stall after July to ensure security for local elections, a Washington official said yesterday. "You can actually increase your own risk if you pull out too many simultaneously," the official said. "This is not a stall tactic." But Baghdad officials nixed plans for the summer ballots this week, highlighting tensions between Baghdad and provincial governments.

If elections stay on schedule, US troop cuts will freeze at 140,000 and last 4 to 6 weeks. "I think before the end of '08, we are going to see additional drawdowns," said the official, who stayed anonymous because Washington will officially change troop plans only after Army Gen. David H. Petraeus talks to President Bush next month, the Los Angeles Times reports. (More Iraq stories.)

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