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US may add support troops after partial Iraq pullout
Washington (AFP) Oct 2, 2007 The withdrawal of five US combat brigades from Iraq by July could lead to an increase of troops specialized in training and logistical support, a top general said Tuesday. Asked if the planned withdrawal of about 21,500 combat troops by July could prompt a doubling of support forces, General Ray Odierno told reporters: "It could, that's what we have to determine, but we have to work on that now." Odierno, the deputy US commander in Iraq, said that "over time" the United States would shift to "transition teams" tasked with training and supporting Iraqi forces. "Now we have to determine: how many transition teams do we need? ... I hope in the next several weeks we'll be able to figure that out," he said. Last month, President George W. Bush endorsed the plan by General David Petraeus, the US commander in Iraq, to withdraw five of 20 combat brigades from Iraq by July. The limited pullout would bring the US troop level in Iraq back to 130,000, the amount before Bush ordered in January a "surge" of US forces in a bid to quell violence in Baghdad and Al-Anbar province. "Over the next months we will continue to assess the security situation and make recommendations on what forces are needed in which area," Odierno said. But, he added: "It's premature to look beyond next summer at this point." Commenting on Prime Minister Gordon Brown's announcement Tuesday that 1,000 British troops will pull out of Iraq by Christmas, Odierno said the "reduction is in line with what I expected." The US general also welcomed a joint US-Iraqi investigation into US security contractor Blackwater's involvement in a September 16 Baghdad shootout that killed at least 10 Iraqis. "I think it's good we have this joint commission set up, I think we should have done it before we had an incident," he added. Related Links Iraq: The first technology war of the 21st century
Military Matters: The 'seam' in Anbar 
Washington (UPI) Oct 1, 2007 It is reasonably clear that, contrary to the White House's claims, the "surge" had little or nothing to do with the improved situation in Anbar province in Iraq. That security there has improved is a fact; a Marine friend who just returned told me the whole province is now quiet. If we look past the Bush administration's propaganda and ask ourselves what really happened, we may find something of great value, namely a "seam" in Islamic Fourth Generation forces that we can exploit. (William S. Lind, expressing his own personal opinion, is director for the Center for Cultural Conservatism for the Free Congress Foundation.) |
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