Dinar Iraq News
Obama Administration to Drop Troop Levels in Iraq to 3,000
Published September 06, 2011 | FoxNews.com
The Obama administration has decided to drop the number of U.S. troops in
Iraq
at the end of the year down to 3,000, marking a major downgrade in
force strength, multiple sources familiar with the inner workings and
decisions on U.S. troop movements in Iraq told Fox News.
Senior commanders are said to be livid at the decision, which has already been signed off by Defense Secretary Leon Panetta.
Panetta, touring sites Tuesday in advance of
the Sept. 11 10th commemoration, insisted "no decision has been made"
on the number of troops to stay in Iraq.
"That obviously will be the subject of
negotiations with the Iraqis and as a result of those negotiations. As I
said no decision has been made of what the number will be," he said.
Currently, about 45,000 U.S. troops are
stationed in Iraq. The generals on the ground had requested a reduced
number of troops remaining in Iraq at the end of the year, but there was
major pushback about "the cost and the political optics" of keeping
that many in Iraq. The military's troop-level request was then reduced
to 10,000.
Commanders said they could possibly make
that work "in extremis," in other words, meaning they would be pushing
it to make that number work security-wise and manpower-wise.
Now, sources confirm that the administration has pushed the Pentagon to cut the number even lower, and commanders are concerned for the safety of the U.S. troops who would remain there.
"We can't secure everybody with only 3,000
on the ground nor can we do what we need to with the Iraqis," one source
said. Another source said the actual total could be as high as 5,000
when additional support personnel are included.
A senior military official said by reducing
the number of troops to 3,000, the White House has effectively reduced
the mission to training only.
"There is almost no room for security
operations in that number; it will be almost purely a training mission,"
this official said. The official added that a very small number of
troops within that 3,000 will be dedicated to counter-terrorism efforts,
but that's not nearly what Gen. Lloyd Austin, the top U.S. commander in
Iraq, wanted.
This shift is seen by various people as a
cost-saving measure and a political measure. White House spokesman Jay
Carney said Tuesday that the U.S. has operated responsibly to meet the
year-end deadline to remove troops from Iraq, per a 2008 Status of
Forces Agreement.
He added that negotiations with the Iraqis
will determine the outcome, and while costs are a factor in every
decision, the administration makes decisions on what is best for the
United States.
The only administration official fighting
for at least 10,000 forces to stay in Iraq at the end of the year was
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, sources said. But she has lost the battle.
Responding to the news, Sen. Joe Lieberman,
D-Conn., who has traveled to Iraq many times, said that in all the
conversations he has had on force strength, he has "never heard a number
as low as 3,000 troops to secure the gains Iraqis have won over the
years."
Lieberman said his first question for the
administration is whether the number is one Iraqis had requested or if
it was chosen according to other criteria.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said reducing
the troop presence to 3,000 "would put at risk all the United States has
fought for in Iraq."
"The biggest winner of a U.S. decision to
move to 3,000 troops in Iraq would the Iranian regime. The ayatollahs
would rejoice," he said.
Any of the plans will require Iraqi
approval, and on that front, the Pentagon recently secured a commitment
from the Iraqis to start negotiations, but they have not agreed to any
number.
"Discussions with the Iraqis on our
post-2011 strategic relationship are ongoing, and no decisions on troop
levels have been made," said Panetta spokesman George Little. "We
continue to proceed with troop withdrawals as directed by the
president."
On Tuesday, the head of the three-province
Kurdish autonomous region in the north of Iraq, warned that if American
troops leave sectarian violence might resurface. Massoud Barzani urged
the central Iraqi government to sign an agreement with the U.S. to keep
forces in the country.
Fox News' Bret Baier contributed to this report.
Source:
http://www.foxnews.com
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