The two top U.S. officials in Iraq -- General David Petraeus and U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker -- have urged Britain not to hastily withdraw its remaining forces from Iraq, warning of potentially "devastating consequences."

Georgia's defense minister says his country will reduce its military presence in Iraq to 300 soldiers by next summer. Davit Kezerashvili told reporters Friday the planned cut is part of a previous agreement with the United States.

A report to Congress by Gen. David Petraeus that called for reducing the number of American troops in Iraq and saying they were needed as Iraqis were trained to take over responsibility for the nation's security themselves, was welcomed by Iraq’s government.

Britain's Army commander said in an interview published Monday that political pressure from the United States delayed the British withdrawal from the southern Iraqi city of Basra for five months.

British troops today completed their withdrawal from a base in the southern Iraqi city of Al-Basrah. An Iraqi commander, Major-General Mohan Hafedh Fahad al-Firaiji, announced that the British military handed control of the Al-Basrah Palace base to Iraqi Army troops early today.

South Korean Foreign Minister Song Min-soon said today that his country's troops will be withdrawn from Afghanistan at the end of the year.

President Bush and congressional Democrats are negotiating new funding for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq after the president vetoed a measure earlier this week because it included a timetable for a troop withdrawal from Iraq. VOA White House Correspondent Scott Stearns has the story.

A spokeswoman for President George W. Bush has confirmed that Bush will veto a war-funding bill passed by both houses of the U.S. Congress that calls for U.S. combat troops to start withdrawing from Iraq by October.

South Korea's Defense Ministry says the country will draw up plans by the end of June to withdraw its remaining troops from Iraq. The ministry said Friday, that a plan on the termination of the mission will be sent to parliament.

U.S. President George W. Bush says he knows Americans are weary of the war in Iraq and are wondering if the United States can succeed. But, in an April 4 speech to troops, some of whom are about to deploy to Iraq, Bush said efforts to set what he called an "artificial deadline" for withdrawal made U.S. forces more vulnerable.

President Bush has renewed his threat to veto a bill before Congress that would fund the Iraq war, but would also set a deadline for a U.S. troop withdrawal. VOA's Paula Wolfson reports it is the latest escalation in tensions between the White House and the Democratic Party majority on Capitol Hill.

The U.S. Senate continues debate Tuesday on President Bush's request for additional funding for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Majority Democrats have included a provision calling for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq by next March - a measure that Republicans are seeking to strip from the overall bill. VOA's Deborah Tate reports from Capitol Hill.