US Iraq commander considers January troop cut-report

WASHINGTON, Sept 7 (Reuters) The US commander in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus, has told President George W Bush he wants to maintain heightened troop levels in Iraq well into next year but could accept the withdrawal of about 4,000 troops starting in January, according to The New York Times.

The Washington Post, citing one unidentified senior US official, also said Petraeus was willing to consider the drawdown of one brigade -- about 3,500 to 4,500 US troops --early next year.

Any recommendation from Petraeus, due to appear before lawmakers next week, that allows for a small reduction in force starting in January could satisfy some critics in Congress.

But a senior military official, who is close to Petraeus but was unwilling to be named, said the general called the newspaper reports inaccurate.

''He told me the article was off base,'' the official said.

''He said, 'Fire the sources,' meaning not accurate and the article is off base.

''People need to stop reading his mind or trying to read his mind,'' the official said.

That official, however, would not address the substance of the Times and Washington Post articles and said he did not know what Petraeus had told Bush in their meetings.

Petraeus, in testimony starting Monday, will give Congress his assessment of the current war strategy in Iraq.

The Bush administration has added 30,000 troops to the war as part of the so-called surge strategy to improve security and allow Iraqi politicians time to advance legislation seen by Washington as critical to long-term stability.

Petraeus is expected to discuss what senior military and defense officials call the ''natural'' course of the surge, meaning the gradual reduction of troop levels starting in April due to the availability of US forces.

The Times report said Petraeus wants to maintain the increased troop levels -- now at 168,000 -- to reduce the risk of military setbacks. But a small reduction of troops starting January could help the Bush administration mollify critics on Capitol Hill.

The US Congress must decide in coming weeks whether to approve more funding for the war, and Democratic leaders are seizing on the reports as evidence that Washington should start bringing home some of its troops.

A small but growing number of Republicans have also expressed doubts about the US strategy on the unpopular war.

The White House will submit its own assessment by September 15, after testimony by Petraeus and Ryan Crocker, the US ambassador to Iraq, report to Congress. That report is expected to provide Bush with a blueprint for his administration's next move in Iraq.

REUTERS PDT VC2215