WASHINGTON - REPUBLICAN Senator John McCain said on Wednesday that security gains in Iraq could be lost if the new administration pulls troops out too quickly, but he did not dismiss the feasibility of President Barack Obama's 19-month timetable.

The administration was finishing details this week on a plan that would withdraw most of the nation's 142,000 troops in Iraq by August 2010. The proposal would leave as many as 50,000 troops behind to advise and train Iraqi security forces and to protect US interests.

Sen McCain, who lost the presidency to Obama last year, suggested that the timeline - three months longer than Obama's campaign pledge but shorter than some military officials have advised - was an attempt to find middle ground. He warned that while the plan might appease Americans weary of war, the public should keep in mind that casualties could continue.

'Let's also be realistic - advisers in any conflict are in harms' way,' Sen McCain told an audience at the conservative American Enterprise Institute.

House Republican Leader John Boehner made similar comments to reporters on Wednesday.

'While it may have sounded good during the campaign, I do think it's important that we listen to those commanders and our diplomats who are there to understand how fragile the situation is,' said Mr Boehner.

In his speech, Sen McCain outlined steps the US should take to win the war in Afghanistan, including spending more to develop the country's infrastructure and end the drug trade. He also suggested that the US create an international fund to finance the expansion of the Afghan army.

Since losing his White House bid, the Arizona senator has returned to Congress as the top Republican on the Armed Services Committee. -- AP