WASHINGTON, March 23 (Xinhua) -- The Pentagon is still evasive on the schedule for U.S. troops to leave Iraq, as U.S. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld on Thursday refused to make any estimate on the issue.

    "I've avoided predicting the timing," Rumsfeld told a Pentagon briefing, saying he won't commit the same mistake made nearly a decade ago when U.S. officials suggested that U.S. troops would beout of Bosnia within a year.

    Instead, U.S. troops are still there, he said.

    U.S. President George W. Bush suggested earlier this week that U.S. troops will remain in Iraq even after he leaves office in January 2009.

    But Rumsfeld seems more evasive on the issue, denying to make any prediction.

    "The level of the forces in Iraq will depend on conditions on the ground and the recommendations of the commanders," Rumsfeld said.

    Nevertheless, he said a drawdown of U.S. troop levels may be possible this year, since Iraqi security forces are making progress.

    There are some 133,000 U.S. troops in Iraq right now and Pentagon officials had said they hope the level could be reduced to below 100,000 within this year, depending on the ground situation in Iraq. Enditem