The phrase "a drawdown by" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used in contexts related to finance, resource management, or any situation where a reduction or decrease is being discussed, typically involving funds or resources.
Example: "The report indicated a drawdown by the company of its cash reserves to cover unexpected expenses."
Alternatives: "a reduction of" or "a decrease in".
President Obama has committed to one of them: a gradual drawdown by 2014, accepting three more years of sacrifice in blood and expenditure (on a declining slope, it is hoped), in the expectation that Afghan forces can be built up to hold off the Taliban, protect civilians, and prevent civil war, which would almost certainly spill into Pakistan, making things there even worse.
In Afghanistan, the American presence ramped up in 2009, followed by a drawdown in 2011.
In public, White House officials continue to argue that Mr. Obama struck the right balance last December, and sent the right signals, when he called for a short-term troop increase followed by a drawdown.
In Afghanistan, the American presence ramped up in 2009, followed by a drawdown in 2011, and the President is contemplating a plan to have no troops left in the country after 2014.
Sen. Dodd's warning, a drawdown in card issuances by major financial institutions, slowing consumer spending and an uptick in national savings could serve to temper MasterCard's results next time around.
And -- and this strategy hasn't yet yielded those sorts of gains and benefits.... They've kicked the can down the road until the spring, early summer, when the president is going to have to decide just how many troops to withdraw, and it's looking like there will be a meaningful troop drawdown by next summer.
The White House has proposed a drawdown of about 30,000 troops by next summer, with the first few thousand out by the end of this year.
By beginning a drawdown slightly earlier, the officials say, Mr. Bush would both maximize his flexibility and avoid having to stick to a strict timeline for withdrawal, which the president has said in the past would signal to enemy forces exactly when and how quickly American forces would begin to leave.
But they also warn that the progress is not yet irreversible and could be jeopardised by too precipitate a drawdown.
