Listen Now!  (4:24 Minutes)

Download the MP3  (1.5 MB)

• More LA Daily News Podcasts
• Podcast/iTunes FAQ
• Download the Latest iTunes Software

Slowdown advised on troops' exit

BAGHDAD - Concern over upcoming elections and widening tensions among Iraq's religious and ethnic groups appear behind the U.S. military's advice to put the brakes on withdrawing more American troops from Iraq despite improvements in security.

President Bush's top defense advisers have urged that he keep 15 combat brigades in Iraq until the end of the year, despite expectations that better security would allow for faster cuts, The Associated Press has learned.

A representative said Friday that Bush will announce his decision on future troop levels in Iraq next week.

The military advice seems at odds with glowing reports that al-Qaida in Iraq is on the run, the main Shiite militia has been pushed out of its strongholds in Baghdad, and Iraqi security forces have been handed control of Basra and Amarah and the former killing fields of Anbar province.

U.S. military deaths are down to some of their lowest monthly levels since the war began in March 2003.

But U.S   Read Full Article...