U.S.' Skelton wants Iraq drawdown, has Afghan worries

By Susan Cornwell

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Despite new U.S. intelligence warnings on al Qaeda's resurgent terrorism network, a leading U.S. House of Representatives Democrat still believes U.S. troops in Iraq should be drawn down.

But the United States might have to increase its troops in Afghanistan if other NATO countries do not help more there, said House Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton.

However, speaking in an interview with Reuters on Tuesday, Skelton opposed U.S. incursions into Pakistan, which neighbors Afghanistan, to chase down al Qaeda fugitives.

"The best thing we can do, for the health of our young people in uniform, particularly ground forces, is to redeploy (from Iraq), as best we can in an orderly fashion, taking our equipment with us," said Skelton, a moderate Democrat from Missouri.

The declassified version of a National Intelligence Estimate released by the Bush administration last week said al Qaeda, which masterminded the September 11 attacks, had set up a safe haven in Pakistan near the Afghan border and also trained new operatives in Iraq who hoped to launch another attack on the United States.

President George W. Bush seized on the findings to warn again on Tuesday against a U.S. pullout from Iraq, saying it would be "dangerous for the world and disastrous for America."

Skelton said al Qaeda's spread had made it a "much more dangerous world" but that U.S. forces were exhausted after more than four years of war in Iraq.

"There is no other choice (than withdrawal). We are wearing our troops out. I mean, really wearing them out," he declared.

Skelton voted in 2002 to authorize the invasion of Iraq but has since joined the majority of Democrats in Congress who want U.S. forces to start coming home. He said the military could not take the continued strain of the war.

More than 1.5 million U.S. service members have been sent to Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001. Many have faced multiple and extended deployments to maintain U.S. force levels now at 157,000 in Iraq and 25,000 in Afghanistan.

Skelton's committee, which writes defense policy legislation, plans a joint hearing with the House Intelligence Committee on Wednesday to examine intelligence on al Qaeda.

'FORCES SPREAD LIKE BUTTER'

"In the Middle East we are spread like butter, very thin," Skelton said. "When you only have so many people in uniform, the readiness level is sinking, and our job in Congress is to raise and maintain the military. And that also means to be prepared for tomorrow."

Still, he said the United States might have to increase the U.S. force in Afghanistan to fight a resurgent Taliban and al Qaeda there and along the border with Pakistan if NATO allies do not send more troops.

"We might have to increase the number in Afghanistan. We should have done that earlier ... I don't think you have to if NATO could produce what they promised," he said, making clear he did not anticipate shifting large numbers of U.S. forces.