Troop levels may drop according to Rice

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says the United States will probably not need to maintain its current troop levels in Iraq "very much longer," though she declined to provide a precise timetable for reduction in U.S. forces. Rice appeared to set the stage for such a reduction, saying the Iraqi forces are doing a better job of holding their own against insurgents. "I do not think that American forces need to be there in the numbers that they are now because _ for very much longer _ because Iraqis are stepping up," Rice told Fox News in an interview Tuesday. "This is not just a matter of training numbers of Iraqi forces, but actually seeing them hold territory." The Bush administration has been under fire in Congress to set a timetable for a withdrawal from Iraq. President Bush has steadfastly declined to set such a timetable and has said the U.S. will stay in Iraq as long as it takes to ensure the country's stability and democracy. Iraq holds parliamentary elections Dec. 15. Rice said Bush will take his guidance from commanders in the field. The Washington Post reported in Wednesday's editions that the Pentagon tentatively plans to reduce the number of U.S. forces in Iraq early next year by as many as three combat brigades, down from 18 there now. There are now almost 160,000 U.S. troops in Iraq. The Post, citing unidentified senior military officers, said one brigade will be kept "on call" in Kuwait in case more troops are needed quickly. Rice did not comment on specific troop levels. But in an interview with CNN, she said, "I suspect that the American forces are not going to be needed in the numbers that they are there for all that much longer because Iraqis are continuing to make progress in function, not just in numbers but in their capabilities to do certain functions like, for instance, holding a highway between the airport and the center of the city, something that our forces were doing just a short time ago, they're now doing." "I think that's how the president will want to look at this," she said.