US troop withdrawal continues - lowest level since war started.

US troops at lowest level since Iraq invasion

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BAGHDAD — The number of American soldiers in Iraq has dropped below 100,000 for the first time since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion in a clear signal the U.S. is wrapping up its nearly seven-year war to meet a deadline for leaving the country, the U.S. military said Tuesday.

The troop reduction comes at a critical time in Iraq as Washington questions the shaky democracy's ability to maintain security in the tense period surrounding March 7 parliamentary elections. Those concerns have only grown with a decision by a vetting committee to bar hundreds of candidates from running because of suspected ties to Saddam Hussein's outlawed Baath Party.

The U.S. military plans on maintaining its current 98,000 boots on the ground in Iraq through the elections, 1st Lt. Elizabeth Feste, an army spokeswoman in Baghdad, told The Associated Press.

That's in line with what Gen. Ray Odierno, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, has said would remain in place until at least 60 days after the election — a period during which he believes Iraq's new government will be at its most vulnerable.

International observers fear that tension between the Shiite-dominated government and minority Sunnis may spill into the streets, re-igniting sectarian violence that could threaten the planned U.S. withdrawal.

President Barack Obama has ordered all but 50,000 troops to leave Iraq by Aug. 31, 2010, with the remainder pulling out by the end of next year under an Iraqi-American security agreement.

"The withdrawal pace remains on target for about 50,000 at the end of August 2010," Feste said.