Baghdad: Following reports in British newspapers, the US military denied that it planned to pull its forces from Iraq early next year.
Britain's Sunday Telegraph and Sunday Mirror mentioned a plan that US and British forces were to withdraw in spring 2007. But senior British defence officials said the reports were "completely false".
"They're not true. We're going to do exactly what we said we're going to do, which is to make the assessments of situations on the ground. The commanders in theater will make their recommendations up the chain of command, and that will eventually get through the secretary of defense to the president for decisions about US troop levels," General Peter Pace, Chairman Of The US Joint Chiefs, says.
Earlier, the US military spokesman in Iraq called the reports "completely false." Reiterating previous statements made by US and Iraqi officials, Lieut Col Barry Johnson said any troop reduction will depend on the ability of the US-trained Iraqi security forces to maintain order.
But the chances of improving the security situation continued to be gloomy with no signs yet of an end to a political deadlock over the formation of a national unity government that could halt a slide toward civil war.
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