From Agence France-Presse,

Newsweek reported Sunday that Washington plans to reduce troop levels to 80,000 by mid next year and to 60,000 by the end of 2006.

Fewer US troops on the ground is likely to mean fewer casualties -- and less of an incendiary presence for insurgents.

Politically, a partial US withdrawal would allow Bush to point to progress in Iraq ahead of the 2006 elections.

From a soldier,

If we pull out immediately, it's likely the Iraqi security forces will not be able to provide stability on their own. In that event, the new Iraqi government could possibly be overthrown. The other option would be to reduce our troop numbers and have a gradual pullout. That is very risky because it seems that even with the current number of troops the violence still continues. With a significant troop reduction, there is a strong possibility the violence and attacks on US and coalition forces could escalate and get even worse. In my opinion, that is more of a certainty.