Gates hopes for troop level cuts in Iraq« Thread Started on Sept 15, 2007, 10:19pm » --------------------------------------------------------------------------------Gates hopes for troop level cuts in IraqAP, WASHINGTON AND BAGHDAD Sunday, Sep 16, 2007, Page 7 read at source> http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/a ... 3379036The US defense secretary said he hoped US troop levels in Iraq could be cut to 100,000 by the end of next year, well beyond the cuts US President George W. Bush has approved, while an al-Qaeda front group warned it would hunt down Sunni Arab tribal leaders who cooperate with the US and its Iraqi partners.Stressing that he was not expressing an administration plan but only his hopes, US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said it was possible that conditions in Iraq would improve enough to merit much deeper troop cuts than currently are scheduled for next year.Asked at a news conference on Friday whether he was suggesting that today's level of about 169,000 US troops might be lowered to about 100,000 by the end of next year, Gates replied: "That would be the math."