US military planners are considering a "fallback strategy" for Iraq that includes a gradual withdrawal of forces and a renewed emphasis on training Iraqi troops, the Baltimore Sun reported Monday.

It will serve as a "plan B" in case the current troop buildup fails or is derailed by Congress, according to the report.

Such a strategy, although still in the early planning stages, has already been hinted by top administration officials.

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said last month that if the current "surge plan" fails, the backup plan would include moving troops "out of harm's way."

Such a plan also will be close to recommendations of the Iraq Study Group, of which Gates was a member before his appointment at Pentagon.

The plan will be a dramatic break from US President George W. Bush's current policy of committing large numbers of US troops to aggressive counterinsurgency tactics, but it has influential backers within the Pentagon.

Some senior Pentagon officials privately said that chances of success with a large US force may be diminishing.

The alternative plan will be based on US experiences in El Salvador in the 1980s instead of Vietnam.

In El Salvador, the United States sent 55 Green Berets to aid the Salvadoran military in its fight against rebels from 1981 to 1992, when peace accords were signed.

In recent congressional hearings and in private Pentagon meetings, Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has made several references to the El Salvador campaign.

(Xinhua News Agency March 13, 2007)