Meanwhile, the top US commander in Iraq, Gen. George Casey said yesterday that he believed a U.S. troop withdrawal could begin by spring 2006. His remarks appear to have been the first time since the resistance intensified its campaign in April that top Pentagon officials have suggested a timeline for withdrawal.

• Gen. George Casey:
  I do believe that if the political process continues to go positively, if the developments with the (Iraqi) security forces continue to go as it is going, I do believe we will still be able to make fairly substantial reductions after these elections — in the spring and summer of next year.

Some analysts suggest that the US is orchestrating a public relations campaign in an effort to justify pulling out without having to admit that they are being militarily defeated by the Iraqi resistance. Iraq expert Juan Cole points out on his blog this morning that then-Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz told Congress the US would be down to only a division, roughly 20,000 troops, in Iraq by October of 2003. Cole also points out that in the Spring of 2004, the Pentagon announced a troop reduction from 135,000 to 110,000 that never happened. Cole says, “The fact is that Rumsfeld and Casey have no idea if the situation will permit the US to withdraw substantial numbers of troops by next summer.”