CNN: U.S troops in Iraq fall below 50,000

[impik]

CNN) -- The number of U.S. troops in Iraq has fallen below 50,000 -- the lowest level since the U.S-led invasion in 2003, the military said Wednesday.

The drop comes ahead of President Barack Obama's deadline to bring down troop levels by August 31.

The military said U.S. troops will now transition to Operation New Dawn, effective September 1. In this phase, the United States will help train Iraqi security forces until the end of its mission in December 2011.

On Monday, Vice President Joe Biden said that the overall level of violence in Iraq has now declined to the point that some early U.S. veterans of the conflict "would not recognize" the country today.

The roughly 650,000-member Iraq security force is "already leading the way to defend and protect country," he said.

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Civilian efforts to promote Iraqi stability are ramping up, Biden said. But Obama is planning a speech on the situation in Iraq after he returns to Washington from vacation on August 29, a senior administration source said Sunday.


http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/08/24/iraq.u.s..troops/index.html?iref=allsearch#fbid=lRHslvh-lhb&wom=false

[jaxx]

1. K&R

[pampango]

2. From the BBC: US troops in Iraq 'below 50,000' ahead of August target

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-11069261

The number of US troops in Iraq has fallen below 50,000, ahead of a 31 August deadline when US combat operations are due to end, the US military has said. After taking office last year, US President Barack Obama set the August deadline to cut numbers below 50,000.

Last week, the last US combat brigade left the country, seven years after the US-led invasion began. Under a US-Iraq deal, all US troops must pull out by the end of 2011.

They will be armed, but will only use their weapons in self-defence or at the request of the Iraqi government, and will work on training Iraqi troops and helping with counter-terrorism operations, the US military said.

The remaining troops will be part of what the Americans have termed AABs (Advise and Assist Brigades), but to suggest that they are non-combat forces is misleading, our correspondent adds. They are fully armed and can switch to combat immediately if asked to do so by the Iraqis. They can also act alone in self-defence without Iraqi permission.

[Arkana]

3. Operation New Dawn, eh?

I kinda like that name.

[and-justice-for-all]

4. Call me when they hit ZERO...nt