Troop levels likely to remain above 130,000

? More than 130,000 U.S. troops are likely to remain in Iraq next summer after the withdrawal of five combat brigades, military officials familiar with U.S. deployments said Wednesday.

U.S. Iraq commander Army Gen. David Petraeus told Congress in testimony earlier this week that he would recommend that the number of combat brigades in Iraq be reduced by next July, and President Bush is expected to endorse that proposal in a nationally televised speech today.

In his testimony, Petraeus never used the 130,000 figure that has been widely reported in the media. Instead, Petraeus said that he would recommend leaving 15 combat brigades in Iraq.

“We haven’t figured out specific troop numbers at this time,” said Col. Steve Boylan, Petraeus’ spokesman. “We are focused on combat power.”

Military officials familiar with troop deployments told McClatchy Newspapers, however, that as many as 140,000 troops would remain in Iraq, depending on the size of the brigades and how many soldiers remain to support them.

American troop strength was well above 130,000 before the surge began on Feb. 15, according to officials. Pentagon officials couldn’t say whether any military units that were scheduled to be deployed in the next few months have been told that they’ll remain home because of Petraeus’ proposal.

Meanwhile, Democrats in Congress said they were planning to offer proposals next week that would speed a U.S. withdrawal from Iraq.

Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., chairman of the Armed Services Committee, said that Petraeus’ recommendation that decisions on further troop reductions wait until next year is “the definition of an open-ended commitment.”

Levin declined to provide specifics on possible Democratic proposals, but he said Democrats are willing to modify their plans to attract more Republican support.