CERNOBBIO, Italy // Amr Moussa, the secretary-general of the Arab League, warned today that the US should not withdraw too quickly from Iraq and leave the country "in chaos". "The question is, is Iraq today ready with a national army, a national police force, a national judiciary, a national educational system," Mr Moussa said. "If they are ready, the troops have to leave. If they are not ready and the Americans are there anyway and the mistake has been committed, I am not of the view that we just call on the Americans to leave ... It would be another mistake to create chaos in the country and then leave it in chaos."
The US president, George W Bush, will announce his decision on future troop levels in Iraq next week and is expected to largely follow the recommendations of military leaders to reduce the number by up to 8,000 by mid-January. The closely held plan forwarded by senior Pentagon advisers calls for keeping 15 combat brigades in Iraq until the end of the year, according to senior defence officials. Mr Bush is scheduled to speak on Tuesday at the National Defense University in Washington.
The White House press secretary Dana Perino said Mr Bush had been talking with his national security team and will be consulting with members of Congress about Iraq. Gen David Petraeus, the top US commander in Iraq, delivered his recommendations to military leaders about two weeks ago. He had initially argued to maintain the current force levels in Iraq - about 146,000 troops, including 15 combat brigades and thousands of support forces - through June, according to defence officials.
Officials discussed details of the plan on condition of anonymity because Mr Bush has not yet made a final decision. Mr Moussa said US troops should scale back, but "it has to be done in a reasonable way". Mr Moussa also said it was also a mistake for the US to have tried to "impose" democracy on Iraq, and that while the Arab world at large would eventually be ready for democracy, it would be a process.
*AP