Gates seconds Petraeus on pause in withdrawal

BAGHDAD – Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates on Monday endorsed the idea of a pause in the American troop drawdown this summer, as bombers killed at least 22 Iraqis in attacks targeting U.S.-allied tribal leaders.

Gates’ comments followed a meeting with the commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, Gen. David H. Petraeus, who favors a temporary suspension in the troop reduction after the last of five extra brigades leave as planned in July. The brigades were deployed in 2007, and their departure will bring troop levels down to about 134,000, the lowest since January 2007.

Bloodshed has eased, but ground commanders such as Petraeus warn that it could increase if troops are pulled out too quickly. Some senior Pentagon officials favor a drawdown beyond the five brigades to relieve stress on troops, many of whom are on their third or fourth deployments.

Gates previously had expressed hope that conditions in Iraq would permit withdrawals to continue through the end of 2008, until there were about 100,000 forces in the country, but two hours of talks with Petraeus apparently changed his mind.

Speaking about Petraeus’ desire for a pause, Gates said it “probably does make sense” for a “brief period” and added that the ultimate decision is President Bush’s.

Although violence has dropped in most of the country, insurgents remain active, stepping up attacks on supporters of the Awakening movement, started by Sunni Muslim tribal sheiks from al-Anbar province in late 2006 to fight Sunni insurgents.

On Monday, a group of Awakening leaders from al-Anbar were meeting in Baghdad’s Karada neighborhood when a car bomb exploded at a nearby gas station. Minutes later, a suicide bomber rammed a van into a checkpoint guarding the compound where the meeting was taking place.

Ali Hatem Ali Suleiman, a tribal sheik who was hosting the gathering in his compound, said six of his guards were killed.

Suleiman accused the Iraqi and U.S. governments of failing to integrate the Awakening foot soldiers, now known as Sons of Iraq, into the Iraqi security forces. He said if the situation did not change soon, “we will withdraw our forces,” a reference to volunteers.

“Let the Iraqi government and the Americans clean up the country,” he said. “Let them handle it.”

Finding jobs for the more than 70,000 Sons of Iraq forces is considered crucial to sustaining the security gains made in the past year. They are credited with helping bring down violence in areas once plagued by Sunni Arab insurgents loyal to al-Qaida in Iraq.

Also Monday, the U.S. military announced the death of a U.S. soldier in Diyala province, north of Baghdad. A brief statement said that the soldier was killed Sunday by a roadside bomb and that two other troops were injured.