GOP Senator Retracts Prediction Of Troop Cuts

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Forum Spin Doctor
Los Angeles Times
March 25, 2008 Lindsey Graham says he expects 130,000 in Iraq by the end of the year, not 100,000.
By Julian E. Barnes, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
WASHINGTON — A key Republican supporter of the U.S. troop buildup in Iraq has withdrawn his prediction that force levels will fall to 100,000 by the end of the year.
"I think we will be at pre-surge levels, about 130,000 troops, at year's end," Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said in a statement Monday meant to correct earlier remarks.
Graham said he misspoke when he said Sunday on CBS' "Face the Nation" that he thought there would be 100,000 troops in Iraq at the end of the year.
A spokesman for Graham, Kevin Bishop, stood by the prediction of 100,000 when asked about it Sunday. But a day later, Graham retracted his prediction of the sharper cut.
Military planners expect 140,000 troops to remain in Iraq as of July, after the end of the troop buildup.
President Bush is widely expected to order a halt to further troop cuts at least until after provincial elections in October. So reaching 100,000 would require a drastic reduction of troops in the last three months of this year.
Graham has said he does not think that troops should be withdrawn on the basis of artificial timetables, but only when security has improved enough to allow Iraqi forces to take over and U.S. forces to step back from the front lines.
"I have consistently said any changes or further reductions in troops should be based upon conditions on the ground and the advice of our commanders," Graham said Monday.
 
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