US plans 'Iraq fallback strategy'

US military planners have begun work on a fallback strategy in case the US troop buildup in Iraq fails, including a gradual pullout of US forces and more emphasis on training and advising Iraqi forces, the Los Angeles Times reported in yesterday's editions.

The strategy, based partly on the US experience in El Salvador in the 1980s, is in the early planning stages, the newspaper said, citing US military officials and Pentagon consultants who spoke on condition of anonymity.

It is a fallback if the Bush administration's plan to send about 26,000 more US troops fails to stabilize Iraq, or if the Democratic-led Congress limits that move, it said.