In its Friday edition, The Los Angeles Times reported that Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General Peter Pace will recommend massive troops cuts, coming in October.

WASHINGTON — The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is expected to advise President Bush to reduce the U.S. force in Iraq next year by almost half, potentially creating a rift with top White House officials and other military commanders over the course of the war.

Administration and military officials say Marine Gen. Peter Pace is likely to convey concerns by the Joint Chiefs that keeping well in excess of 100,000 troops in Iraq through 2008 will severely strain the military. This assessment could collide with one being prepared by the U.S. commander in Iraq, Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, calling for the U.S. to maintain higher troop levels for 2008 and beyond.

Sounds like a nutroot dream. The head of the military telling President Bush that he agrees with Liberals in bringing troops home, and that the military is otherwise strained. One eency weency problemo. No one seems to have told Pace that he’s going to recommend it.

“The story is wrong,” Pace’s office said late in the day. Earlier, Pace’s office had refused to confirm or deny the report, saying only that it was speculative and that the Joint Chiefs chairman had made no decision.

Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch, who commands the central sector of Iraq, told reporters via video link at the Pentagon that such a drawdown would cause the military to lose all the gains it has made since the beginning of the buildup earlier this year.

“In my battlespace right now, if soldiers were to leave, coalition soldiers were to leave — having fought for that terrain, having denied the enemy of their sanctuaries, what will happen is the enemy would come back,” Lynch said.

“He’d start building the bombs again. He’d start attacking the locals again, and he’d start exporting that violence into Baghdad. And we would take a giant step backwards,” he added.

Actually, the LA Times stated that it would be a dream for Bush critics:

Pace is expected to offer his advice privately instead of issuing a formal report. Still, the position of Pace and the Joint Chiefs could add weight to that of Bush administration critics, including Democratic presidential candidates, that the U.S. force should be reduced.

Those critics include Republican Sen. John W. Warner of Virginia, who on Thursday called on Bush to begin withdrawing troops in September to pressure the Iraqi government to move toward political compromise.

Any discord among the top U.S. generals could be awkward for Bush, who professes to rely heavily on advice from military leaders. But there also is tremendous pressure for military officers to speak with one voice and defer to Petraeus and other field commanders. It remains possible that the Joint Chiefs may opt to weaken their stance before approaching Bush.

Again, no one seems to have told Pace.