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U.S. officials say President George Bush's top defense aides are recommending a withdrawal of one combat brigade from Iraq, but not until next February.

The officials said Thursday the defense chiefs also proposed that a combat brigade be sent to Afghanistan early next year instead of to Iraq.

U.S. commanders have expressed hope that Iraq's sharp reduction in violence will free up more U.S. forces to fight an escalating insurgency in Afghanistan.

The United States now has 15 combat brigades in Iraq and more than 140-thousand troops in total. (A U.S. combat brigade has between three thousand to five thousand troops.) The U.S. military contingent in Afghanistan numbers about 34-thousand.

The U.S. Defense Department says Defense Secretary Robert Gates and military chief Admiral Mike Mullen gave their recommendation to President Bush on Wednesday.

It did not disclose the content of their recommendation, which President Bush is now considering.