BAGHDAD, Nov 18 (Reuters) - The U.S. military does not have to decide until April or May whether to push back the end of its combat operations in Iraq due to a possible delay in the country's next election, the U.S. commander said on Wednesday. President Barack Obama has pledged to end U.S combat operations in Iraq by Aug. 31, 2010, ahead of a full pullout by the end of 2011. The U.S. force in Iraq is supposed to be reduced to 50,000 by next September from around 115,000 now. A veto by Iraq's vice president of a law needed for the election to take place in January raised the possibility once again that the ballot would have to be delayed. [ID:nLI70221] That could affect the Aug. 31 drawdown date, U.S. officials have said. "I feel very confident that we don't have to make any decision until late spring," General Ray Odierno told reporters. "That would then be based on, if we believe there is some sort of instability that would be created that would swiftly change the path that Iraq is on, and if that happened then we'd have to go back and get further guidance from Washington." "But I don't see that happening right now," he added. Under a bilateral security pact signed last year, all U.S. troops must withdraw from Iraq by the end of 2011. The date for the end of combat operations is not included in the agreement but was set by Obama as part of a pledge to U.S. voters to end the war in Iraq. The U.S. military's plans for sending more troops to Afghanistan to fight a resurgent Taliban also hinges on its ability to draw down in Iraq. Violence has fallen sharply in the past 18 months but suicide bombings remain common. U.S. officials say the 60-day period after Iraq's next election will likely reveal whether the country will tip back into sectarian bloodshed or move toward stability and peace. Odierno wants to retain a muscular U.S. presence in Iraq, capable of assisting Iraqi troops or police, until there is clarity about the security situation. "What I believe I have is flexibility and that's the most important thing -- that I have flexibility if we see a problem that we can adjust. And that's what I can do between now and May, that's for sure," Odierno said. "I think I have time until April or May to go back and ask if we have to defer from the 31 August date that the president has set. Right now I believe we can meet that date." (Reporting by Michael Christie)
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger visits with U.S. troops at Camp Victory in Baghdad November 16, 2009. Schwarzenegger visited U.S. soldiers at their camp in Iraq to meet and thank them for ...
