The United States may speed up the the drawdown of US troops from Iraq,US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said today after a surprise visit to the war-scarred country. The pace of the drawdown of US troops from Iraq may be accelerated. Security conditions are improving in Iraq, Gates told reporters travelling with him from Iraq to Turkey. The defence secretary spoke after meeting Massud Barzani,president of Iraqs autonomous Kurdish region,following talks on Tuesday with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki in Baghdad. He urged the feuding Iraqi Arab and Kurdish leaders to settle their differences peacefully or risk plunging the country back into violence. He reminded his hosts that we have all sacrificed too much in blood and treasure to see the gains of the last two years lost to political differences, his press secretary Geoff Morrell said after Gatess meeting with Barzani.
