Gates sees Iraq exit by 2008

The United States won't rush to quit Iraq in the wake of Tuesday's mid-term elections, but it is possible Washington may soon adopt a new strategy of "phased troop withdrawals" leading to an exit before the 2008 presidential elections.

Robert Gates, the former CIA director, who was selected on Wednesday to succeed Donald Rumsfeld as Secretary of Defence, discussed just such a scenario 18 months ago during a seminar at the Panetta Institute at California State University in Monterey.

During a round-table discussion with Leon Panetta, chief of staff to former President Bill Clinton, and Sandy Berger, former national security advisor, Mr. Gates expressed his hope for a relatively rapid withdrawal of U.S. troops.

"We all hope that it will be quick," he said. "That in a year or two, this government in Iraq will be secure enough that they will be able to invite us to leave and we can do so, leaving behind us a government that can survive and that will be very different from what preceded it."

But Mr. Gates qualified his comments, noting it sometimes takes time to accomplish your goals.

Sixty years after the end of the Second World War, "there are still Ameri can troops in Germany," he noted. "We've had troops in Korea for over 50 years. The British have had troops in Cyprus for 40 years."

"If you want to change history, you have to be prepared to stay as long as it takes to do the job," he added.
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