Aboard a military aircraft ? Defense Secretary Robert Gates said today that he hopes to be able to continue to reduce the number of U.S. troops in Iraq over the next 10 months, even as he and his military commanders lean toward a pause in troop cuts in July.

Gates, who is traveling to Australia for defense and diplomatic meetings, told reporters traveling with him that he thinks a “brief pause” to evaluate the security situation in Iraq “is probably necessary in order to be able to assess the pacing of any subsequent drawdowns.”

While Gates still would not say how long a brief interruption in troop cuts might be, his comments signaled that reductions could begin again before the end of the year.

“I think my hope still is that we will be able to further draw down our troops in Iraq over the course of the next 10 to 12 months,” he said.

The defense secretary’s comments came as he prepared for talks with new Australian government leaders who campaigned on a vow to pull roughly 550 of their combat troops out of Iraq.

Gates offered no criticism of the Australians for their decision. Instead, he said that while the coalition values the role the Australians have played, he realizes that about half of their army is deployed, which puts stress on the military.

“We’re concerned about the stress on our own forces; the Australians are confronting that challenge themselves,” he said. The U.S. has about 156,000 troops in Iraq.

After a 30,000-troop buildup ordered by President Bush last year to quell violence in Baghdad, the Pentagon – under pressure from Congress and a war-weary public – has begun a plan to pull five combat brigades out of Iraq by July, without replacing them. One brigade left in December and was not replaced.

Australia’s new center-left government – led by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd – appears to be looking toward a shift in its focus in Iraq, from combat to a broader role in training Iraqi forces, advising civilian agencies and providing more financial aid to the country.

Rudd, whose party gained control in November after 11 years as the opposition, campaigned on a pledge to withdraw the combat troops from Iraq by mid-2008.

Gates and Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte were flying to Canberra today and are scheduled to meet with Foreign Minister Stephen Smith and Defense Minister Joel Fitzgibbon. They are also scheduled to attend a dinner hosted by Rudd.

This is the 19th bilateral defense and diplomatic meeting between officials from the United States and Australia.