US confirms Iraq withdrawal option

Washington: The White House confirmed on Monday that the top US military commander in Iraq has drafted a plan for US troop cuts there, but said the plan was just one option.

President George W Bush said he had met with General George Casey, but reiterated that any decision on troop reductions would be based on conditions on the ground.

"In terms of our troop presence there, that decision will be made by General (George) Casey as well as the sovereign government of Iraq based upon conditions on the ground," Bush said.

Any recommendation by Casey would be "aimed toward achieving victory," he said.

The New York Times reported on Saturday that Casey had drafted a plan that would first reduce US troops in Iraq in September and cut the number of combat brigades to five or six from the current level of 14 by the end of 2007.

There are currently nearly 130,000 US troops in Iraq. Democratic critics of the president reacted angrily, saying over the weekend that the Casey plan appeared similar to their calls for the administration to draw up a timetable for troop withdrawal.

Yet when they urged this they were accused of wanting to ‘cut and run’ by Republicans.

The White House said the Casey plan was not set in stone. "General Casey is assigned the business of making a lot of plans and this is one of the plans that is under consideration," spokesman Tony Snow said.

"But for anybody who thinks that this is engraved in stone, it is not," he said.

Bush, facing waning support over the past year for the Iraq war that has helped drive down his job approval ratings, has repeatedly said troop withdrawals would take place as Iraqi security forces became more able to assume control.

Bush has said that pulling troops out prematurely would be a betrayal of the Iraqi people and would send a message of weakness to enemies of the US.

"When the US of America gives a commitment, we will keep our word. We will not cut and run. It's important to have people in the US Congress who understand the stakes of the fight in Iraq and complete the mission," he said earlier this month.