General lays out pace of Iraq pullout

By the end of October, American troop strength in Iraq will be 120,000, a decrease of 23,000 since January, the top United States military spokesman, Brig. Gen. Stephen R. Lanza, said Monday. The next big reduction will not come until well after the national elections in January, he added. General Lanza referred repeatedly to a "responsible drawdown." It was his first full-scale news conference since May, when he addressed reporters in advance of Iraqi security forces' taking the lead in security operations on June 30.