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| Iraq |
| Pace: U.S. to Launch Phased Iraq Pullout |
| 2005-12-30 |
| ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) - The U.S. will carry out planned withdrawals of American troops in Iraq only from regions where Iraqi forces can maintain security against the insurgents, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff said Thursday. Gen. Peter Pace said the current force of 160,000 would drop to below 138,000 by March, then U.S. commanders on the ground would work with the Iraqi government to determine the pace of future pullbacks in areas that have been secured by local security forces. "The bottom line will be that the Iraqi army and the Iraqi police will gain in competence, that they will be able to take on more and more of the territory, whether or not there are still insurgents in that area," he said in an interview with a small group of reporters, including The Associated Press, aboard a military plane en route to the United Arab Emirates. The number of American forces in Iraq was raised to about 160,000 to provide extra security during the October referendum and December parliamentary elections, and Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld has said those extra troops would be leaving soon. The exact size of the additional troops cuts has not been announced, but senior Pentagon officials have said the number of American troops in Iraq could drop to about 100,000 by next fall. The decision where to cut troops "will be based on the Iraqi units in that area and the threat that exists in that area," Pace said earlier at a news conference in Bahrain. The key, he stressed, "is the Iraqis' ability to control that area." Pace has said American units will steadily hand off more security duties in the coming months to Iraqi forces and stressed the U.S. military needs to be flexible, but his comments offered a detailed glimpse of the administration's plans. |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #3 Nope! It wiil read " Dems force Bush to pull troops from failed and illegal attack on poor defenceless Iraq". |
| Posted by: 49 pan 2005-12-30 13:08 |
| #2 Spinning is already started by reporters. THey are saying its not due to success and the plans, but due to "Congressional Pressure" (i.e. those jerk senators for Masshole and Murtha, Pelosi, et al) and "Popular Opinion" (i.e. Howling Howard Dean, Cindy Shitstain, Michael Mooooore, et al). What a bucket of crap. |
| Posted by: Oldspook 2005-12-30 11:27 |
| #1 I can't wait to see how this gets spun by the Democrats and the press. Will it be a) running dog imperialist forces retreat like whipped curs from their quagmire of failure or b) things going as planned, Iraqi security forces step up to the challenge. Any bets? |
| Posted by: SteveS 2005-12-30 00:35 |