Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/violence-dips-in-iraq-fueling-talk-of-troop-drawdowns Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Transcript Defense chief Robert Gates said Thursday that security in Iraq has "improved dramatically" and that he sees "a real possibility" of future troop cuts. Sens. Jim Webb, D-Va., and Richard Lugar, R-Ind., offer insight. Read the Full Transcript Notice: Transcripts are machine and human generated and lightly edited for accuracy. They may contain errors. MARGARET WARNER: The 18-month surge of nearly 30,000 U.S. troops into Iraq was fully ended this month. And President Bush's comments today were the latest in a round of statements from Washington and Baghdad suggesting a faster withdrawal of additional U.S. forces than was contemplated even a few weeks ago.At his Pentagon news conference, Defense Secretary Robert Gates also expressed optimism for an additional drawdown.ROBERT GATES, Secretary of Defense: I think that the situation has improved dramatically. And I would — I personally believe that there is a real possibility of some additional drawdowns as we look forward.Well, I'll leave it to General Petraeus to make recommendations in terms of what the sequencing and the timing would be. MARGARET WARNER: For more on security in Iraq and the prospects for U.S. troop withdrawal, we turn to Democratic Sen. Jim Webb of Virginia, a member of Foreign Relations and Armed Services Committees; and Richard Lugar of Indiana, the ranking Republican on the Foreign Relations Committee.Welcome to you both.As we just heard the president say, Sen. Lugar, that the security gains on the ground had a degree of durability that now made the prospect of further withdrawals look promising — that wasn't his word — but do you share that assessment? Is that how you see it?SEN. RICHARD LUGAR (R), Indiana: Yes, I do. I think it was significant the president spoke on this stage July 31st, which was hopefully the time when we would have a status-of-forces agreement or a strategic situation with Iraq. That has not occurred.But the president and Secretary Gates, both speaking on the same day, are talking now about irregular warfare in the future, about a future in which the surge has led at least to a lack of casualties, thank goodness, but even more importantly, confidence by the Shiite government that went after the Sadr situation, by Sunnis, who at least have gone after al-Qaida there, and I suppose a confluence of interests, in which the Iraqis are now asserting sovereignty for Iraq, indicating they would not like to have foreigners around for a long time, but prudently hoping that at least, if things got into trouble, there might be a few there.And I think this degree of flexibility the president is setting the stage for is a very important announcement.