Partai Demokrat, yang sekarang menguasai Kongres, sudah minta tentara AS ditarik dalam empat hingga enam bulan-- usul yang ditolak Gates karena dianggap seperti mengundang pemberontak agar menunggu pasukan AS pergi.
Democrats, who now control Congress, have called for a withdrawal of US forces from Iraq in four to six months time -- a proposal Gates rejected as little more than an invitation to the insurgents to wait it out.