Pentagon preparing Iraq pullout plans
Friday, 27 Jul 2007 08:23
Democrats have been calling for a phased withdrawal from the country
United States defence secretary Robert Gates has said that the Pentagon is engaged in "contingency planning" for the withdrawal of troops from Iraq, according to a letter sent to Senator Hillary Clinton.
The head of defence added that such planning was a "priority" for his department and thus he was actively involved in the process.
Ms Clinton, a presidential candidate from the opposition Democrats, had asked the Pentagon about whether plans for a withdrawal from the wartorn country were being made.
Replying to the query in a letter to the senator from New York, Mr Gates said: "You may rest assured that such planning is indeed taking place with my active involvement as well as that of senior military and civilian officials and our commanders in the field.
"I consider this contingency planning to be a priority for this department," he added.
Mr Gates added that he would work closely with the senate armed services committee, of which Ms Clinton is a member, and update it about the "conceptual thinking, factors, considerations, questions and objectives associated with drawdown planning".
President Bush approved the deployment of over 30,000 troops to Iraq last year in order to boost efforts to maintain order in the country that is being torn apart by sectarian violence.
The president has faced greater challenges to his foreign policy ever since the Democrats won control of Congress in last year's mid-term elections.
The Democrats have been campaigning for the announcement of a timetable for the withdrawal from Iraq but the president has vetoed such measures emphasising the importance of staying in Iraq.