WASHINGTON, Dec 1: The independent panel developing policy recommendations on the US role in Iraq will call for a withdrawal of almost all combat troops from the country by early 2008, while leaving some soldiers behind for training and support, the Washington Post said on Friday.

The date is not firm, but rather a goal based on circumstances on the ground, the Post said, citing sources familiar with the Iraq Study Group’s proposal.

“It’s really about transitioning from a combat to a support role, and basically making very clear that this is no longer an open-ended commitment, and we're going to get this done whether the Iraqis like it or not,” one of the sources told the Post. “Everybody understands that we're at the end of the road here.”The Post also said the document calls for embedding US soldiers directly with Iraqi security units starting in January, to improve their efficiency.

The 10-member Iraq Study Group, co-chaired by former secretary of state James Baker and ex-congressman Lee Hamilton, is to reveal its much-awaited findings on Wednesday.

The panel, whose recommendations are non-binding, presents a key opportunity for US President George W. Bush to overhaul his policy as Iraq slips toward chaos and demands mount to bring US troops home.

The bipartisan panel agreed to recommend withdrawing 15 US combat brigades in Iraq -- the bulk of the US fighting presence -- while leaving 70,000 or more American trainers, logistics experts and members of a rapid-reaction force, the New York Times reported Thursday.

The United States currently provides the vast majority of the 160,000-strong multinational force in Iraq.

The Pentagon has been conducting its own review, and the White House has also commissioned a government-wide reassessment of US policy in Iraq.

Asked when Bush would reach a decision on implementing the advice, US national security adviser Stephen Hadley told reporters on Thursday, “it's going to be weeks rather than months,” but offered no further details.

After talks in Amman with embattled Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Thursday, Bush had said: “We'll be in Iraq until the job is complete.

“There's a lot of speculation that these reports in Washington mean there's going to be some kind of graceful exit out of Iraq. We're going to stay in Iraq to get the job done, so long as the government wants us there,” he said.

“This business about 'graceful exit' just simply has no realism to it at all. We're going to help this government,” said Bush.—AFP