McClatchy: Despite Iraq reports, troops' future is set

[babylonsister]

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/227/story/19564.html

Despite Iraq reports, troops' future is set
By Nancy A. Youssef and Renee Schoof | McClatchy Newspapers


WASHINGTON — No matter what Army Gen. David Petraeus tells Congress about the surge in Iraq on Monday, the course for U.S. troops there is already set: Next April, the 30,000 troops who were added this year will begin coming home.

Despite the dueling statistics, the media spin and the maneuvering on Capitol Hill and the campaign trail, no dramatic change in U.S. policy is likely before that, however.

Democrats in Congress who want to force a withdrawal of most combat troops don't have the votes. To pass a law mandating a withdrawal by a certain date, they'd need more Republican support, and most Republicans reject the idea.

U.S. military officials are assuming that the buildup of 30,000 additional American troops will continue until April, although a senior military official told McClatchy Newspapers that they may redeploy a brigade — some 3,500 troops — probably from the Sunni Muslim province of Anbar, where local Iraqi forces can take over. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to speak publicly.

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http://www.mcclatchydc.com/227/story/19564.html

[jimshoes]

1. What is going to happen in April

that is going to cause a shift in the puke's thinking to support withdrawl then other than it's going to be closer to the election? Why wait? Political expediency? What a thoughtless and cruel waste of American and Iraqi lives.

[babylonsister]

2. I think in April they're officially 'out of troops'. That date has

been bandied about for awhile now. No fresh meat to rotate in.