Military plans combat tour cuts
By LOLITA C. BALDOR Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) _ The Bush administration plans to announce next week that U.S. soldiers' combat tours will be reduced from 15 months to 12 months beginning in a few months, The Associated Press has learned.

The decision, expected to get formal approval in the days ahead, comes as Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, prepares to deliver a progress report to Congress next week on the improved security situation in Iraq. He also is expected to recommend future troop levels.

A senior administration official said Friday that plans are to deploy soldiers for 12 months, then give them 12 months rest time at home. Exactly which units would be affected was not yet clear. The official spoke on condition of anonymity ahead of the announcement.

The move to shorter deployments has been pushed by Gen. George Casey, Army chief of Staff, as a way to reduce the strain on troops battered by long and repeated tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. But that goal has been hindered by the continuing security demands in Iraq.

Officials have been publicly silent in recent days about the move to reduce the tours. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Friday he expected a decision by President George W. Bush "fairly soon" on the Army's proposal. He also cautioned that cutting troops' time on the battle front will impose limits on what the military can do in the future.

What the future holds for troops in Iraq will become clearer when Petraeus goes before Congressional committees Tuesday.

He is expected to lay out his proposal for a pause in troop cuts after July when the last of the five additional brigades ordered to Iraq last year have come home. He also probably will tell lawmakers how many more troops could be withdrawn this year, as long as conditions in Iraq remained stable.

His presentation will include statistics reflecting the reduction in violence over the past seven months but also will note the latest spike in fighting in Basra, as Iraqi security forces took on Shiite militias, and the attacks stretched out into Baghdad.

He and Ryan Crocker, U.S. ambassador to Iraq, are also expected to tout political advancements by the Iraqis, although they will note that much more needs to be done.

Officials said Friday the Army proposal to reduce tours is on track. Top military leaders made it clear to President George W. Bush in a private meeting late last month that they are worried about the war's growing strain on troops and their families.

Gates made the decision to extend deployments to 15 months last year, because that was the only way the Army could provide enough troops for the Bush-ordered military buildup aimed at quelling the violence in Baghdad.

Ever since then, Gates, Casey and Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, have said they want to go back to 12 months tours as soon as possible.

There are now 158,000 U.S. troops in Iraq. By the end of July, military leaders have said those numbers would fall to 140,000 troops.