US general sees significant withdrawal in Iraq

The US is expected to pull significant numbers of troops out of Iraq in the next 12 months in spite of the continuing violence, according to the general responsible for near-term planning in the country.

Maj Gen Douglas Lute, director of operations at US Central Command, yesterday said the reductions were part of a push by Gen John Abizaid, commander of all US troops in the region, to put the burden of defending Iraq on Iraqi forces.

He denied the withdrawal was motivated by political pressure from Washington.

He said: “We believe at some point, in order to break this dependence on the . . . coalition, you simply have to back off and let the Iraqis step forward.

“You have to undercut the perception of occupation in Iraq. It's very difficult to do that when you have 150,000-plus, largely western, foreign troops occupying the country.”

But Maj Gen Lute's comments the first to detail extensively the reasons behind such a reduction give credence to reports that Gen Abizaid hopes to hand over to Iraqi forces within the next year large parts of the 14 Iraqi provinces that have remained relatively peaceful.

Maj Gen Lute, who is responsible for the Centcom's plans over the next 12-18 months, said military officials expected troop reductions to occur most rapidly outside the Sunni Triangle.

Source

Looks like if this happens Iraqi security forces and military will be carrying out more and more operations on their own.

With the new Iraqi government trying to agree on the constitution, this is the next step... continue to let their forces take more of a lead.

[edit on 24-8-2005 by andpau66]

With this sheer amount of man power it ought to be done quicker. Im not bashing the army, but this time line is still very slow.

Just my opinion.

They just announced the planned deployment of two battalions from the 82nd Airborne Division and I've heard that the total troop level could rise from the current level of about 135,000 up to about 150,000 ahead of the elections.

George Bush also made this statement yesterday:
''So long as I'm the president, we will stay, we will fight, and we will win the war on terror''

That means he's planning for the troops to stay until at least 2008 and I'm not sure if they can hold their ground with a reduced force with such a large insurgency to deal with.

[edit on 25-8-2005 by AceOfBase]

My god what a bunch of spin man, they say we are pulling troops out soon, right in time to anoucne the deployment of more troops... Are we really that gulliable?

Pull out?

Hmmmmm...

Pentagon Orders 1,500 More Troops to Iraq

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Pentagon has ordered 1,500 paratroopers to Iraq to provide security in advance of two upcoming national votes, the military announced Wednesday.

Two infantry battalions from the 82nd Airborne Division will deploy to Iraq before the scheduled Oct. 15 referendum on the proposed constitution, and remain through the December national elections, the Pentagon said in a statement.

They are expected to depart the United States in mid-September and will remain in Iraq for 120 days, officials said.

The battalions will be the 2nd Battalion of the 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, the "White Falcons," and the 3rd Battalion of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, the "Blue Devils," according to a draft of an 82nd Airborne press release provided to the AP.

Source:
Headliner

In and Out and In and Out.

Sounds like somebody is Playin' with us....

Ok, let me get it straight.

They are pulling forces out of Iraq, which is probably true.
And
They are replacing those who left with new troops, which is probably true.

So therefore, pulling troops out of Iraq, is TRUE. And whatever they pull out, they REPLACE, TRUE?