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| Iraq |
| Units' Deployment to Iraq May Be Canceled |
| 2005-12-08 |
| WASHINGTON (AP) - The Pentagon has tentative plans to halt the scheduled deployment of two brigades to Iraq and instead send in smaller teams to support and train Iraqi forces in what could be an early step toward an eventual drawdown of U.S. forces, defense officials said Wednesday. Details are still under discussion, and it would largely depend on the military and political conditions there after the parliamentary elections next week, said the officials. Under the plan, deployment of the 1st Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, based at Fort Riley, Kan., would be canceled. Instead, for the first time, portions of the brigade would be divided into 10- or 11-member military transition teams that would be sent separately into Iraq to work with Iraqi security forces. Also, some other members of the brigade would go to Iraq to do security duty, such as guarding high profile targets. The second unit that would not deploy to Iraq is the 2nd Brigade, 1st Armored Division, which is currently in Kuwait and is usually based in Germany. Under the plan, up to two-thirds of the brigade would return to Germany, while the rest would stay in Kuwait, prepared to respond to any emergency in Iraq. The 4th Brigade, 10th Mountain Division, based at Fort Polk, La., would not go to Afghanistan. The new deployment plan would not dramatically reduce the number U.S. forces in Iraq but instead would set the stage for a gradual troop reduction, allowing the military to stop or delay other unit deployments planned for 2006-2008. |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #1 Well, it's great to see the President finally following the Murtha Plan! /sarcasm |
| Posted by: Bobby 2005-12-08 22:41 |