U.S. Senator Joseph Biden (D-De), speaks at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, November 21, 2005. Biden, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said he expected at least 50,000 troops will be pulled out of Iraq next year. Biden said he is not ready to set a deadline to leave Iraq and hopes to avoid civil war there by crafting a plan with specific goals and timetables. REUTERS/Mike Segar