The chief of the U.S. Army said Wednesday (Oct 11th) that he plans to keep current American troops level in Iraq through 2010.

The chief of staff, General Peter Schoomaker, told a Pentagon press briefing that he aimed to have enough troops at the ready in Iraq through 2010.

U.S. troops levels in Iraq could be adjusted to actual conditions, and it was easier to hold back forces scheduled to go there than to prepare and deploy units at the last minute, he said.

He cautioned however that was "not a prediction that things are going poorly or better."

Currently there were about 141,000 American soldiers in Iraq, including 120,000 troops from the Army.

U.S. officials had hoped last year to reduce American troops in Iraq to below 100,000 by the end of this year, but the number of forces was raised with escalating violence and sectarian tensions in the war-ravaged country.

Editor: Donald