.More GIs to stay in Iraq?
WASHINGTON — While trumpeting progress on the ground in Iraq and projecting the gradual reduction of troops over the next several months, administration officials and commanders in Iraq have started to signal that U.S. troop levels in Iraq could remain above the presurge level beyond the summer.
In his State of the Union speech Monday, President Bush defended his decision last January to send more than 28,000 additional U.S. soldiers and Marines to Iraq and increase the overall U.S. presence to more than 163,000 troops. It was a decision that many Democrats and other war critics, the president noted, greeted with skepticism and concern "that containing the violence was impossible."
There has been a steep reduction in violence in Iraq since the last elements of the surge arrived on the ground last summer, when bombings and sectarian bloodletting were an everyday occurrence.
Bush said in his speech that one Marine expeditionary unit and an Army combat brigade team has already come home and will not be replaced and more than 20,000 troops in all could be returning home by July without replacements.
But although the number of U.S. troops in Iraq is being reduced over the next several months, the drawdown could be suspended this summer as Defense Department officials and top commanders gauge whether they can make do at a presurge posture.
Troops for training
Pentagon officials said Gen. David Petraeus, the top commander in Iraq, might recommend keeping the roughly 8,000 support troops sent as part of the surge to provide training and other logistical support to the fledgling Iraqi security forces that are expected to fill the void as U.S. forces step back.
"I think Gen. Petraeus has been trying to determine … how many of those forces he needs to retain to do the rest of his job," Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said Tuesday. "It may well be that he comes back and says, 'I'm going to need to retain those support forces, those enablers longer.' He may choose otherwise."
Last month, Defense Secretary Robert Gates indicated there could be as few as 10 brigades, or about 100,000 U.S. troops, in Iraq by the time a new administration inherits the war next January. But in more recent comments, Gates and other administration officials have stepped back and placed the onus on Petraeus' recommendation.
Petraeus and other commanders have repeatedly stressed that they worry a quick drawdown could negate any gains made by the surge—a position repeated by Bush on Monday.
Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno, the No. 2 commander in Iraq who is wrapping up his tour of duty, cautioned earlier this month against predicting pullouts beyond the four additional combat brigades that are expected to be sent home without replacements by this summer.
"If we continue to see Iraqi security force capacity, then we will decide whether we can reduce further," Odierno said. "But to ask me that question now, it's very, very difficult for us to determine, and I think it's unfair, frankly."
Petraeus is expected to testify before Congress in April and he could make a recommendation then on a possible further drawdown, Morrell said. But the general has tended toward caution.
Speaking on CNN on Sunday, Petraeus suggested he may wait until the current phase of reductions is completed in July before deciding whether to call for further withdrawals.
"We will, though, need to have some time to let things settle a bit, if you will, after we complete the withdrawal," he said. "We think [it] would be prudent to do some period of assessment, then to make decisions."
Boost for critics
But a slowing or an end to U.S. troop reductions in Iraq could bolster critics of the surge who say the Iraqi government has done little to take advantage of the troop buildup and remains far from being able to defend itself.
The president met Tuesday at the White House with the Joint Chiefs of Staff and combatant commanders. While Bush has indicated he would look to Petraeus before reducing force levels, Morrell said the president would also weigh the views of Gates, the Joint Chiefs and the chief of Central Command, Adm. William Fallon, before making any decision.
ChicagoTribune
In his State of the Union speech Monday, President Bush defended his decision last January to send more than 28,000 additional U.S. soldiers and Marines to Iraq and increase the overall U.S. presence to more than 163,000 troops. It was a decision that many Democrats and other war critics, the president noted, greeted with skepticism and concern "that containing the violence was impossible."
There has been a steep reduction in violence in Iraq since the last elements of the surge arrived on the ground last summer, when bombings and sectarian bloodletting were an everyday occurrence.
Bush said in his speech that one Marine expeditionary unit and an Army combat brigade team has already come home and will not be replaced and more than 20,000 troops in all could be returning home by July without replacements.
But although the number of U.S. troops in Iraq is being reduced over the next several months, the drawdown could be suspended this summer as Defense Department officials and top commanders gauge whether they can make do at a presurge posture.
Troops for training
Pentagon officials said Gen. David Petraeus, the top commander in Iraq, might recommend keeping the roughly 8,000 support troops sent as part of the surge to provide training and other logistical support to the fledgling Iraqi security forces that are expected to fill the void as U.S. forces step back.
"I think Gen. Petraeus has been trying to determine … how many of those forces he needs to retain to do the rest of his job," Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said Tuesday. "It may well be that he comes back and says, 'I'm going to need to retain those support forces, those enablers longer.' He may choose otherwise."
Last month, Defense Secretary Robert Gates indicated there could be as few as 10 brigades, or about 100,000 U.S. troops, in Iraq by the time a new administration inherits the war next January. But in more recent comments, Gates and other administration officials have stepped back and placed the onus on Petraeus' recommendation.
Petraeus and other commanders have repeatedly stressed that they worry a quick drawdown could negate any gains made by the surge—a position repeated by Bush on Monday.
Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno, the No. 2 commander in Iraq who is wrapping up his tour of duty, cautioned earlier this month against predicting pullouts beyond the four additional combat brigades that are expected to be sent home without replacements by this summer.
"If we continue to see Iraqi security force capacity, then we will decide whether we can reduce further," Odierno said. "But to ask me that question now, it's very, very difficult for us to determine, and I think it's unfair, frankly."
Petraeus is expected to testify before Congress in April and he could make a recommendation then on a possible further drawdown, Morrell said. But the general has tended toward caution.
Speaking on CNN on Sunday, Petraeus suggested he may wait until the current phase of reductions is completed in July before deciding whether to call for further withdrawals.
"We will, though, need to have some time to let things settle a bit, if you will, after we complete the withdrawal," he said. "We think [it] would be prudent to do some period of assessment, then to make decisions."
Boost for critics
But a slowing or an end to U.S. troop reductions in Iraq could bolster critics of the surge who say the Iraqi government has done little to take advantage of the troop buildup and remains far from being able to defend itself.
The president met Tuesday at the White House with the Joint Chiefs of Staff and combatant commanders. While Bush has indicated he would look to Petraeus before reducing force levels, Morrell said the president would also weigh the views of Gates, the Joint Chiefs and the chief of Central Command, Adm. William Fallon, before making any decision.
ChicagoTribune
posted by madtom at 12:47 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home