Iraq Progress Likely To Free Troops To Join Hotspot Assaults
From the LAT:
General Petraeus is expected by Bush administration officials to recommend removing American troops soon from several areas where commanders believe security has improved, possibly including Al Anbar province.
According to the officials, Gen. David H. Petraeus is expected to propose the partial pullback in his September status report to Congress, when both the war’s critics and supporters plan to reassess its course. Administration officials who support the current troop levels hope Petraeus’ recommendations will persuade Congress to reject pressure for a major U.S. withdrawal.
The expected recommendation would authorize U.S. commanders to withdraw troops from places that have become less violent and turn over security responsibilities to Iraqi forces.
But it does not necessarily follow that Petraeus would call for reducing the overall number of troops in the country. Instead, he would move them to another hot spot, or use them to create a reserve force to counter any rise in violence.
“That is the form of the recommendation we are anticipating him to come back with,” a senior administration official said. But referring to the redeployment options, the official added, “I just don’t know which of those categories he is going to be in.”
Petraeus has not told the White House where he might recommend reductions. But military commanders have indicated in recent briefings that Nineveh province in northern Iraq and its capital, Mosul, like Al Anbar in the west, could be an area from which it might be suitable for the U.S. to withdraw.
American commanders have found that pulling out too soon and leaving pacified areas to unprepared Iraqi troops can lead to a resurgence of militant activity.
Petraeus has been keeping a “close hold” on the recommendations he intends to deliver next month, according to a senior military officer in Baghdad. But the officer said Petraeus wanted to ensure that any moves he made did not cause violence to flare up again.
“He doesn’t want to lose the gains we have made,” said the military officer who, like others, spoke on condition of anonymity because the report is still being developed.
Some officials say they expect Petraeus to push for maintaining the current force level for at least six additional months to build upon security improvements in Baghdad.
U.S. force levels reached nearly 162,000 this month, an increase of about 30,000 from the beginning of the year, when the American military’s troop buildup began.
“If the Marines are having so much success in Al Anbar, maybe we redeploy them to some other hot spot,” said one Defense official. Administration officials have cited improved ties with Sunni Arab leaders in Al Anbar with helping reduce violence and curb the power of the insurgents.
Not all military commanders favor reducing the number of troops in more stable areas. In a news conference last month, Marine Maj. Gen. Walter E. Gaskin, the commander of U.S. forces in Al Anbar, cautioned against cutting back forces there too quickly.
Gaskin argued that the added forces had allowed the Marines to eliminate havens used by Al Qaeda.
A “persistent presence” of U.S. forces, he said, would help give Iraqi security forces more experience and confidence, and the ability to keep militants out.
“It takes time to gain experience,” he said. “I see that experience happening every day, but I don’t see it happening overnight. I believe it’s another couple of years in order to get them to do that — and that’s not a political answer, that’s a military answer.”
But division and brigade commanders in other parts of Iraq have said they anticipate recommending further reductions in the months to come. Army Maj. Gen. Benjamin R. “Randy” Mixon, the American division commander for northern Iraq, said last month that he expected to cut the number of troops in his area, but emphasized that reductions should be made slowly.
The Army 1st Cavalry Division’s 4th Brigade has moved soldiers out of combat roles in Mosul and other cities, and into assignments such as full-time advisors with Iraqi units.
Col. Stephen M. Twitty, the brigade commander, said in an interview before the bombings Tuesday that the U.S. combat force in Mosul had been reduced from the size of a division, or nearly 20,000, to that of a battalion, typically about 1,000.
The senior officer in Baghdad said the military was still debating whether Petraeus should make his detailed strategy recommendations to Congress in an open or closed session.
The officer said that though Petraeus would discuss his broad recommendation for adjusting operations, he would avoid detailed public discussion of where he intended to reposition specific brigades.
The officer said Petraeus would not go deeply into detail in an open session.
“The future plan, how he thinks we can move forward, you really do not want to broadcast that to the world,” he said.
And though Petraeus and Crocker will present their recommendations on Capitol Hill, legislation passed by Congress leaves it to the president to decide how to interpret the report’s data.
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the one thing that scares me , is that the DC GENERALS are going to make the calls rather than generals on the ground. the DC GENERALS
are the ones that caused this prolonged war.
August 15th, 2007 at 3:14 amDon’t rush it. Everyone’s already decided what they’re going to say about the report. Iran’s the 800 pound gorilla in the room and we’re in Iraq for the duration. The President just doesn’t have the heart to tell us.
August 15th, 2007 at 5:52 amI wouldn’t redeploy too soon. However it is obvious that AQI has moved into the Kurdish areas.
Also the troops near the Syrian border, should stay there. And they should be intercepting AQI BEFORE they get into Iraq proper…not after. Hit these motherfuckers in the countries that are allowing their free transit to Iraq…
Once the paper tigers Syria and Iran start feeling some steel pain, they will think twice about letting muj use their countries as transit points.
And Syria in my view is the weakest of the two. We could twist their arm, and put them into a headlock, if we threaten them with retaliation or hit moving AQI targets inside their country…
August 15th, 2007 at 6:51 amHere are a couple videos my Marine buddy sent me:
One Voice
http://www.flashdemo.net/gallery/onevoice/index.htm
If I die before you wake…
http://www.flashdemo.net/gallery/wake/index.htm
August 15th, 2007 at 7:36 amAll this military progress is spoiling the democrats
August 15th, 2007 at 8:11 amplan for achieving “peace in our time”.
Wow the top dog wants to remove troops from Al Anbar, I gotta say thats a huge sign of progress..I guess brokedick AQ cant beat us so they went to go blow up old people and children in the kurdish areas, bunch of pussies..Wish i could see the look on their faces when the tanks and strykers start rolling into towns up north
August 15th, 2007 at 10:42 amIMHO, we made a deal with the Sunni tribes that live there. Help us kickout Al-Queda, Iranians & once the area is really in our control, then we will redeploy our troops & let then run the show. Smart by Gen. P.!!!!
August 15th, 2007 at 11:03 amseems like a huge reduction in mosul, the military shouldn’t give detailed troop deployments to the public.
August 15th, 2007 at 12:21 pmI thought the new strategy was clear, hold, build. I really dont want to go back to making the same mistakes of letting insurgents retake towns because we failed to continue to hold them.
August 15th, 2007 at 3:45 pmAgree with Evestay. No big jerkwad removals. Better to have a few bored troops hanging around doing civil rehab than opening the door for irhabi return parties.
August 16th, 2007 at 1:09 am