Danish PM to Bush: Denmark to reduce Iraq force

Denmark wants to reduce its troop numbers in southern Iraq this year, Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen told US President George W. Bush in a telephone call Tuesday. The Danish prime minister said he told Bush he hoped that both his Nordic country and Britain could begin cutting the size of their contingents in the region, as two southern provinces are transferred to Iraqi control. "As the Iraqis take over the responsibility, we can reduce the number of British and Danish troops," Fogh Rasmussen said in a statement, adding that he and Bush had talked for about 25 minutes.