Troops in Iraq reduction to insignificant presence
Fox News broke the story yesterday that the Obama Administration intends to reduce US troop presence in Iraq to a paltry 3,000 pacs.
Senior commanders are said to be livid at the decision, which has already been signed off by Defense Secretary Leon Panetta.
iraq_bombing_AP
Aug. 15: Iraqis inspect the site of a bombing in Kirkuk, Iraq.
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Sources: Obama Administration to Drop Troop Levels in Iraq to 3,000Panetta, touring sites Tuesday in advance of the Sept. 11 10th commemoration, insisted “no decision has been made” on the number of troops to stay in Iraq.
“That obviously will be the subject of negotiations with the Iraqis and as a result of those negotiations. As I said no decision has been made of what the number will be,” he said.
Currently, about 45,000 U.S. troops are stationed in Iraq.
Commanders asked to keep 10,000 in Iraq, but again the administration has gone it’s own way, like in the debate over the recovery…the difference is that when this administration makes mistakes in Iraq, it’ll cost lives. I doubt 3,000 personnel in Iraq will even be able to defend themselves.
If it takes 7 people to support one trigger-puller, that leaves less than 500 infantrymen in Iraq. With the resurgence of the Mahdi Army and the continued presence of al Qaeda in Iraq, how will 500 people defend themselves and their support people in Iraq let alone be able to focus on the continuing, main mission?
Let’s start reducing White House and Congressional staff instead.
Category: Barack Obama/Joe Biden, Terror War
Does this Administration have the legal justification to alter the SOFA commitment set forth by the last Administration?
Additionally, if upwards of 100,000 hooahs were just enough to quell violence where other factors had not already reduced it, what level below that is adequate to staunch a resurgence of fighting?
Yeah, I see another Karbala job happening.
Google Karbala PJCC 2007 if you don’t know what I’m talking about.
CI: this administration has had no qualms in the past altering deals, and ignoring laws.
Did I miss something or was Poinsettia, Panetta– whatever — saying that we will negotiate how many of our troops will stay in Iraq? Whether we are there or not is a proper issue to negotiate. Whether we are there as cops or warriors is too. But how many of our people will be there strikes me as our business alone, not subject to negotiation.
This is an increase in troop count, not decrease. The Status Of Forces Agreement signed by both Iraqi and US governments in 2008 stated that all troops would be removed by the end of this year. To have 3,000 troops there is 3,000 more than the SOFA called for in 2008. Does this mean that the Iraqi parliament will amend or change the current SOFA to have 3,000 extra troops? If so, what other changes will they make?
@UtahVet is right. We’re supposed to be gone. This isn’t Obama; it’s what Bush negotiated under the latest SOFA. Despite reducing the numbers down considerably, the violence never came like everyone predicted. We need to get out of there and send all the troops home. No need to keep regurgitating the same training over and over. If the Iraqi’s have not gotten it by now, 3K of extra troops won’t help. We’ve been there since 2003 and have been trying really hard to train these people. They are going to have to figure it out on their own now.
Question being: has all the hyper-expensive crap every freaking commander bought (networks, etc.) been removed from Iraq, or are we handing the latest and greatest in technology to the highest bidder, and Iran?
@DaveO – As far as I’m seeing, everything proprietary to the US Military is obviously being shipped back, this extending to the LCD screens every officer down to Mess Kit Repair seems to to have signed for.
Excluding talk of M1’s and F-16’s…I haven’t seen anything to be worried about in regards to equipment retrograde.
@CI: So what about the dining facility at Camp Delta? (http://www.alternet.org/story/140558/report:_billions_of_dollars_lost_to_contractor_fraud,_waste_and_abuse/)
I was there.. no need for a new dining facility but they built it anyways.
What about the T-Walls and other infrastructure? Most of it is staying! Happy donations!
@Brian – “So what about the dining facility at Camp Delta?”
DaveO’s questions was in regards to handing over technology to the Iraqi’s. DFACs and T-walls hardly apply in that context.
Consider also [especially when bringing up Class IV items], it’s usually far cheaper to leave behind than to try and ship them home.
@CI: Don’t be fooled. I have seen it myself. Plenty of TPE being handed over to the Iraqis.
The TPE will either:
#1. Get HET’ed back Kuwait to sit and get maintained at Arifjan for future contingency “DRF” type operations that we might need to save the Iraqis again…or something like that.
#2. Turned over to the Iraqi Army.
#3. Brought to the SPOD in Kuwait and shipped out to float around in the Indian Ocean/sit at Diego Garcia for future contingency operations.
All the ratty OIF-1 crap we got came from #3 option and then Camp Doha.
I am not going to tell fibs, you have perplexed me here – This ain't Hell, but you can see it from here » Blog Archive » Troops in Iraq reduction to insignificant presence . I recognize that you meant well and you plainly understand what you are speaking about, but I cant pronounce that I get where you are emerging from.