U.S. hopes GI rotation better 2nd time around

[leftchick]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/chitribts/20041123/ts_chicagotrib/ushopesgirotationbetter2ndtimearound&cid=2027&ncid=1480


~snip~

The rotation of more than 250,000 troops to and from Iraq over the next four months will occur as Iraq struggles to stage its first national elections on Jan. 30, an event in which U.S. forces will play a vital security role.


For the coming year, commanders intend to keep the U.S. force in Iraq at the same level as for 2004--about 140,000 troops. That number, though, is likely to increase temporarily by at least 5,000 soldiers during the election period, military commanders say, and could increase further if they deem it necessary to tap into the Army's strategic reserve, units that are prepared to deploy quickly.


Some U.S. commanders in Iraq also are saying they may need a larger American force to quell the insurgency, according to one report Monday, though the U.S. Central Command, which is responsible for Iraq, has yet to make that request.


Pentagon (news - web sites) planners now are preparing to maintain the U.S. presence in Iraq until at least 2010, a far longer commitment than initially expected and one that will dramatically affect the structure of U.S. ground forces worldwide, according to military sources. That makes the handling of the periodic troop rotations all the more crucial.

[maddezmom]

1. 2010?

my god, my daughter will be 14 yrs old. :(

[leftchick]

2. so will my son!

:(

[Earth_First]

3. 4 years...5 years...10 years...

how many more figures can be released? Only to be reneged?

[gnofg]

4. Hint

were never leaving

[saigon68]

5. This is how they will “Rotate” back

This is how they will “Rotate” back




A dead American is Loaded on the hood of a HumVee, after being killed by a sniper in Baghdad.




An American from the 1st Infantry Division lies dead on the floor of a house he entered in Fallujah after
kicking the door in and being shot and killed by the owner