The number of American troops in Iraq will fall to roughly 40,000 by the end of this month as the United States winds down the war, U.S. military officials said Tuesday.
Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, initially said force levels would drop to 30,000 in that time frame, but later Tuesday his spokesman corrected the number.
Capt. John Kirby said Mullen spoke in error when he told a crowd at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace that the number was higher.
Kirby added that "the larger point" that Mullen made "is still valid: We are on track to meet the president's goal of withdrawing all American troops from Iraq by the end of the year."
There are about 44,500 U.S. troops in Iraq. When the United States officially ended its combat mission in Iraq on Sept. 1, 2010, it had about 50,000 troops in-country. Under a 2008 agreement, all U.S. troops are to be out of Iraq by the end of this year.
"This is the drawdown plan that Gen. Austin's had in place specifically, and it's really a plan that gets us to, under the current agreement, to all the troops out by the end of December," Mullen said later during a news conference with Defense Secretary Leon Panetta. Gen. Lloyd Austin is the top U.S. commander in Iraq.
Talks are under way with Iraq to consider leaving at least a few thousand U.S. troops in the country to help train Iraqi forces. Mullen said it is a difficult process and there have been no final decisions on troop levels beyond Dec. 31.
In a related development, the United States and Pakistan have agreed to limit the number of American troops in that country, U.S. officials said Tuesday.
The presence of U.S. forces inside Pakistan is highly unpopular there.
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