US to cut troop level in Afghanistan, says NYT report

The troops staying at home will be on standby, said the official. Pentagon spokesman Larry Di Rita said that the decision to reduce a portion of the army unit scheduled to replace the 173rd Airborne Brigade, now in southern Afghanistan, was based on recommendations from the senior US Commanders in Afghanistan and the Middle East.

“The overall level of security forces in the country,NATO’s role, and the political developments are all moving in the right direction,” Di Rita was quoted as saying.

A Pentagon spokesman was not immediately available for comment.

Rumsfeld signed the troop reduction orders on Monday and a formal Pentagon announcement is expected on Tuesday, The New York Times said. The American troop reduction has been anticipated since NATO agreed to assume control of an American command in southern Afghanistan next year, the report said.

NATO is looking to raise its 9,000-strong ISAF peace keeping force to some 15,000 troops from early next year. It will spread its bases in the North and West, and the capital, Kabul, to the more volatile South, a base for many insurgents. —Reuters