Gates says US troop numbers will be drawn down failing political progress in Iraq by summer

After talks with Iraqi leaders in Baghdad, US defense secretary Robert Gates told a news conference: The Bush administration will take progress into account in its summer decision whether or not to bring home some of the thousands of extra troops sent to tamp down violence.
“Our commitment to Iraq is long-term but it is not a commitment to having our young men and women patrolling Iraq’s streets open-endedly.” He said he hoped the Iraqi Council of Representatives would not recess for the summer without passing legislation on political reconciliation and the sharing of oil revenues.
Gates arrived in Baghdad the day after almost 200 people, mostly Shiite and all civilians, died in suicide bombings in the capital, the most violent day since the US-Iraqi security crackdown began two month ago.