US:US PRESIDENT George Bush has opened the way for US troop cuts in Iraq by saying security gains in the country were durable and cut the length of deployments.
In the first significant US reduction since Mr Bush launched the "surge" early last year that sent an extra 30,000 troops to Iraq, he ordered tours of duty be cut from 15 months to 12, effective today.
His televised statement from the White House yesterday came in advance of a review by Gen David Petraeus, the US commander in Iraq, later this month or early next. Gen Petraeus is expected to recommend troop withdrawals. The shift also came after a month in which US casualties in Iraq were nine, the lowest since 2004 and down from 79 the same time last year.
Casualties among Iraqi civilians are still high, however, with suicide bombers killing 57 people on Monday in Kirkuk and Baghdad.
Mr Bush, who leaves office in January, is keen to claim progress in Iraq and, at the same time, undermine Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, whose main foreign policy platform is withdrawal of all combat troops.
The Army Times, which lists the number of US troops worldwide, puts the number in Iraq and Kuwait, the base for channelling troops and supplies, at 158,000.
Even if Gen Petraeus were to announce big cuts, it would not be logistically possible to make much of a dent in that total by the time Mr Bush leaves office.
Cutting tours of duty will be popular with troops and their families. Longer tours were introduced last year because the US army and marines were over-extended and also to support the "surge".
In a sign that Gen Petraeus would announce cuts, some troops on stand-by to go to Iraq have been told to stand down pending his recommendations.
Mr Bush said: "General Petraeus and Ambassador [ to Iraq, Ryan] Crocker caution that the progress is still reversible, but they report that there now appears to be a 'degree of durability' to the gains we have made." He attributed this, in part, to the Iraqi army taking on more responsibility, with 110 of their 192 combat battalions taking a lead in fighting, including an offensive in Diyala province.
"This operation is Iraqi-led; our forces are playing a supporting role," Mr Bush added, "and in the months ahead, the Iraqis will continue taking the lead in more military operations across the country."
The White House also announced further changes to the intelligence services yesterday, bringing to an end a shake-up under way since September 11th, 2001.
The changes confirmed the importance of the director of national intelligence as overall co-ordinator and a strengthened role for the White House's national security council (NSC), with the main loser being the CIA.
The NSC appeared to have been given more control over covert actions overseas, previously the almost exclusive preserve of the CIA.