(Adds background throughout) WASHINGTON, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Top U.S. defense officials have recommended that President George W. Bush withdraw one combat brigade from Iraq but not until early next year, Pentagon sources said on Thursday. A U.S. Army combat brigade has between 3,000 and 5,000 troops. The United States now has 15 combat brigades in Iraq as well as a variety of other units, making a total of more than 140,000 troops. One source said the recommendation, made by Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, also included proposals for smaller units but the source did not elaborate. Gates and Mullen made their recommendation to Bush in a video conference on Wednesday afternoon and also shared the views of Army Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, the Pentagon said. The Pentagon said all were "fundamentally in agreement" on how to proceed in Iraq. Troop cuts in Iraq would allow the United States to increase its forces in Afghanistan, where commanders have requested more troops to counter rising insurgent violence. Violence in Iraq has dropped dramatically over the past year but commanders have been cautious about the idea of major withdrawals, warning that the situation remains fragile. The officials cautioned that Bush had not yet approved the recommendation. (Reporting by Andrew Gray; editing by Todd Eastham)
A hydro-electric turbine is unloaded for a convoy during Op OQAB TSUKA, in Afghanistan, in this undated handout photograph received in London on September 2, 2008. British troops backed by special ...
