General Mixon: U.S. Troop Reduction Could Begin in Jan. 2008

I'll believe it when I see it. Maybe this General is speaking on his own. In which case, he'll forced out by the administration not before too long:

A U.S. troop reduction in northern Iraq could begin as early as January 2008 and would cut in half the U.S. military presence in the region over the following 18 months, the top U.S. commander for the area said today.

Maj. Gen. Benjamin Mixon, who currently has about six U.S. combat brigades in northern Iraq, including the restive province of Diyala, said he has presented his plan for a troop reduction to Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno, the senior operations officer for Iraq.

Here's the caviat:

But he stressed that carrying it out would depend upon security conditions.

This could also be ploy by the White House to get the Congress to vote for continued funding for the war:

"It needs to be well thought out and it cannot be a strategy that is based on, 'Well, we need to leave. That's not a strategy, that's a withdrawal," he said.