The Army expects to begin cutting troop levels in Iraq as soon as this year, a move that would reduce the level of U.S. forces there to below 138,000, an Army general said on Thursday.Good news for the men and women of our armed forces getting it done over in the sandbox. Well done!
"I think for the next force rotation, we'll start seeing that (the) force rotation coming in will be smaller than the force that's in there," said Gen. Richard Cody, the Army's vice chief of staff.
"I know you're all waiting for a number here, and I'm not going to give you one because I don't know," Cody added in an interview with defense reporters.
The annual U.S. force rotation for "Operation Iraqi Freedom 3" is already beginning and Cody said that troops sent into the rotation in the coming year are likely to be smaller in number than the soldiers coming out of the country.
There are 150,000 American troops in Iraq -- most of them Army soldiers -- but the number will go down to 138,000 before the end of this month. The force was increased by 12,000 in December to provide security for the Iraqi elections in January.
But U.S. defense officials have said the number will likely begin falling below 138,000 as the Iraqi army and security forces are trained to take over security in the country.
Mark's Remarks
As I noted in covering the StrategyPage story, the Iraqis and Afghanis are starting to get it. Zarqawi and Co. are the real foreign invaders, seeking to throw away the new rights these people just won from Saddam and the Taliban. Our brave men and women were not in the wrong place, wrong war, wrong time. They are doing and have done an excellent job which is showing fruits. They are showing these people in these nations the road to new rights and opportunities. They are winning hearts and minds. And they are expanding the nations of democracy by being themselves and offering a helping hand to these infant democracies. A shame that disappointed officeseekers have maligned their mission. Thank God the American people saw this for what it was, seeking to marginalize our soldiers. Thank God they elected a man of vision, not a man of magic hats, betraying "brothers in arms", and appeaser #1.
