Military Testing Iraq Exit Routes

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Monday Feb 23, 2009

BAGHDAD - The American military is shipping battlefield equipment through Jordan and Kuwait, testing possible exit routes in advance of a United States withdrawal in Iraq.

The convoys - carrying armoured vehicles, weapons and other items - mark the Pentagon's first steps in confronting the complex logistics of transporting the huge arsenal stockpiled in Iraq over nearly six years.

It's also part of a wider assessment, ordered by US Central Command, to decide what items the military can transfer, donate, sell or toss away once a full-scale withdrawal is under way, Marine Corps and Army officials told AP.

"Because they are starting to see a potential reduction of forces, they are looking to get more stuff out," said Terry Moores, the deputy assistant chief of staff for logistics for Marine Corps Central Command.

"We started slow," Moores said, but added "it's picked up speed" in recent months.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10558113

[napi21]

1. That's a great sign, and one that should put a stop to everybody

who's been slamming Obama for not keeping his promise to withdraw from Iraq. This is firm proof that the military is working toward that goal!

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2. like all things political

. . . the issue of an Iraq withdrawal isn't as one-dimensional as the defense that it's going to eventually happen. It matters what the military does as it 'works toward that goal'. It's also an open question as to whether the 'goalposts' will be moved farther away from the exit date in the SOFA.

Today the military in Iraq announced another joint mission with the Iraqi military called 'Operation New Hope' . . . :eyes:

Sun Feb 22, 2009 9:12am EST

U.S. and Iraqi forces have launched a new campaign called “Operation New Hope” aimed at defeating the insurgency in Iraq’s Nineveh province, which is considered a last stronghold for Sunni militants, Reuters reported Feb. 22. A spokesman for Nineveh’s Iraqi military command said forces started searching homes and making arrests there on Feb. 20, and that 84 people had been detained so far.

http://www.reuters.com/article/GCA-GCA-iraq/idUSTRE51L0YE20090222

[napi21]

3. Well, they are calling it THE LAST STRONGHOLD. I have no idea

if that's true, but this news is positive IMO.

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4. I don't think more U.S. military combat in Iraq is 'positive'

. . . and I think whoever in the military press propaganda corp coined the phrase 'last stronghold' to describe Mosul deserves a raise for reaching you.