U.S. troop reductions in Iraq likely to slow.
By on Jan 29th, 2008 at 8:31 pm
U.S. troop reductions in Iraq likely to slow.
AP reports that the Bush administration “is sending strong signals that U.S. troop reductions in Iraq will slow or stop altogether this summer, a move that would jeopardize hopes of relieving strain on the Army and Marine Corps and revive debate over an open-ended U.S. commitment in Iraq.” The move results from concerns by U.S. commanders that the reduction in violence “is tenuous and could be reversed.”
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The only way he can get away with that is to extend the tour of duty for the troops there from 15 months to 24 months. Countdown to the announcement 10..9..8..7..6…
January 29th, 2008 at 8:33 pmThat surge must really be working.
January 29th, 2008 at 8:43 pmThey will extend their duties there.
Then do the stop loss BS to screw them even more.
Then on top of that, stop their tour 1 DAY before they qualify for their benefits.
The Bush triple screw.
Buck Fush
January 29th, 2008 at 8:47 pmWhy do I think this is coming:
The pissadent says he will continue to reduce troop levels by 3 military personnel per month so we’re gonna give him a blank check and tel-com immunity.
January 29th, 2008 at 8:58 pmThe treatment of the fine young men and women of our military may be the most shameful “legacy” of the Bush administration. That’s a LOT of shame.
January 29th, 2008 at 8:59 pmGWB, in the voice of Cartman:
“Whatevah, whatevah, I do what I want!”
*sigh*
January 29th, 2008 at 9:00 pmBush will orchestrate another Surge in October requiring McCain or Romney to support it. Because there will be an “incident” that warrants it. Count on it.
January 29th, 2008 at 9:01 pmU.S. troop reductions in Iraq likely to slow
Is this a trial balloon or the real thing?
It seems to me that this would be counterproductive for the rethugs in the November elections. I mean, how would they answer to the obvious stopping, which goes against 60% of the American public’s desire to get our troops out?
January 29th, 2008 at 9:02 pmLet’s hope the generals tell this lame ass duck of a chymp to fu(k off, and start bringing the troops home without replacing them.
January 29th, 2008 at 9:05 pmU.S. troop reductions in Iraq likely to slow
well, of course… because last night he told the nation
about all the troops who would be coming home soon…
bushco bizzaro opposite world…
January 29th, 2008 at 9:07 pmJust for six months
January 29th, 2008 at 9:07 pmAnd when McCain wins, he will start the draft,and the number of young men and women will be in the hundreds of thousands fighting coming wars planned by PNAC put for McCain,assisted by his buddy Lieberman, :”There will be more wars, my dear friends..”
January 29th, 2008 at 9:07 pmI do believe I said a couple of weeks ago they were starting to soften the blow of telling the Public that they weren’t going to be withdrawing troops that fast after all. I hate being right about these guys. Their plays are all hackneyed.
January 29th, 2008 at 9:31 pmComment by tarazan — January 29, 2008 @ 9:07 pm
And when McCain wins… â€There will be more wars, my dear friends..â€
On weekends do you wear a white robe and sandals while carrying a sign that reads “The world will end soon.”?
Have some faith, my friend!
January 29th, 2008 at 9:37 pmI have seen a 20 thousand troop withdrawal. I don’t know what this slowing is about. The Bushies said 20,000. And we will still have more troops there than pre-surge. It is just a BS political move.
January 29th, 2008 at 9:51 pmThe owner of my local bodega ( where I shop almost day and have done for 10 years) informed me a couple of weeks ago that her nephew and her brother will be deploying in June 2008.
These will be the nephew’s second tour and the brother’s third (he’s a sergeant). This means the nephew is being yanked out of his Poli-Sci studies that he just started last September after serving over 15 months in Iraq
I met him when he was helping his aunt at the store (when he got bacK). Such a nice guy, he called me ’sir’–much to my embarrasment. He’s physically intact but he’s quiet and his aunt tells me his experience has affected him, though to what extent she can’t tell and is cautious not to force things out of him. She is very pissed-off that he’s being called up again ( and her brother too).
January 29th, 2008 at 10:16 pmAbove the counter are two-page pics of WTC, before 9-11 and then with the towers gone, replaced by the huge black cloud of smoke.
She knew the Iraq invasion was bullshit from the get-go. Her son apparently isn’t keen to go back but he’ll go anyway because he’s a good soldier. She has nothing but contempt for Bush.
5th estate, I was waiting for the end of your post where it said they still loved Bush. It is good to see some people get cause and effect.
January 29th, 2008 at 10:19 pmThe move results from concerns by U.S. commanders that the reduction in violence “is tenuous and could be reversed.â€
My. Who coulda thunk it?…
Cheers,
January 29th, 2008 at 10:34 pm#8 Merlin:
It seems to me that this would be counterproductive for the rethugs in the November elections. I mean, how would they answer to the obvious stopping, which goes against 60% of the American public’s desire to get our troops out?
Even if they do reduce troops, it would only be down to the level that was there before the “surge” at best. And people weren’t too happy abut that, status quo ante and all….
That is, as long as people know what they’re doing, and the M$M doesn’t suck up to the maladministration and spew their propaganda nonstop so that people are snowed as to what’s actually happening….
Cheers,
January 29th, 2008 at 10:48 pmgee….ya think when Sadyr calls off his unilateral cease-fire in a couple of months, there just might be a bit of an up-tick in violence?
One more Friedman Unit, coming up.
January 29th, 2008 at 11:29 pmI have seen a 20 thousand troop withdrawal. I don’t know what this slowing is about. The Bushies said 20,000. And we will still have more troops there than pre-surge. It is just a BS political move.
Comment by Sabyen91 — January 29, 2008 @ 9:51 pm
20,000 havent come out yet. We were up to 175k due to the overlap in RIP/TOA of forces it will go back down to 165k once the RIP/TOA ends and 145k once the surge forces leave.
January 29th, 2008 at 11:36 pm5th estate, I was waiting for the end of your post where it said they still loved Bush. It is good to see some people get cause and effect.
Comment by Sabyen91 — January 29, 2008 @ 10:19 pm
Most of the Bush lovers left in the military are usually looked at like they have an abortion on their face when they admit it. Most of us follow the idiom, of not saying anything at all. Not because it’s the nice thing to do but because it would be illegal for us to do otherwise UCMJ Punitive Article 888.
January 29th, 2008 at 11:39 pm20,000 havent come out yet. We were up to 175k due to the overlap in RIP/TOA of forces it will go back down to 165k once the RIP/TOA ends and 145k once the surge forces leave.
Comment by mdbyrne — January 29, 2008 @ 11:36 pm
md, I haven’t seen anybody say we will get back down to 145 again. I have just seen 20k.
January 29th, 2008 at 11:46 pm“Most of the Bush lovers left in the military are usually looked at like they have an abortion on their face when they admit it. Most of us follow the idiom, of not saying anything at all. Not because it’s the nice thing to do but because it would be illegal for us to do otherwise UCMJ Punitive Article 888.
Comment by mdbyrne — January 29, 2008 @ 11:39 pm”
md, you are a vet?
January 29th, 2008 at 11:47 pmObviously you are…stupid question. What about the officers? Are most of them changing their minds, in your opinion?
January 29th, 2008 at 11:48 pmmd, you are a vet?
Comment by Sabyen91 — January 29, 2008 @ 11:47 pm
My wife and I are getting ready for our second trips to Iraq here shortly. We’re on the 15-12-15 plan.
January 29th, 2008 at 11:55 pmAnd we are both officers and we both have Obama stickers on our cars. I take the additional step of putting a big blue donkey on the back. Just in case people dont know where I stand in terms of this administration.
In Vietnam there was a huge movement that started through the enlisted (conscripted) ranks. It seems there is a movement, not at all of Vietnam proportions or tactics (because it is volunteer and if you signed up after 2001 you knew what you were signing up for), but it seems to be the officers saying we don’t agree with the way they want us to do things so we’re going to go out and do it our way so we arent in this fn desert for the next 100 years.
I hope you also put your branch’s logo on your bumper, md.
January 30th, 2008 at 12:02 amHere’s how the hustle is working just FYI.
January 30th, 2008 at 12:05 amThey are now offering 2 year enlistments. Sounds great right, 2 years get some training, and then I’m out. Maybe I get one deployment. Well that two years is actually 8 years 2 (active duty) plus 6 (IRR). The way the timing works with the 15 month deployments and basic training time not counting on those two years and the stop loss programs the army can get 30 months of deployment out of you on a 24 month contract. So, you might as well call it what it is, 6 months of conscription. Let me tell you some of those are not the greatest soldiers to have in your unit. They feel they have nothing to lose because they’ve already been screwed into cheating death another time.
I hope you also put your branch’s logo on your bumper, md.
Comment by Sabyen91 — January 30, 2008 @ 12:02 am
Cross cannons
January 30th, 2008 at 12:08 amI cant stand the people who put their whole military record in stickers on the back of their cars, but you have to represent your branch.
md, thanks for telling it like it is and thanks for your service. You have been misused but most of us still appreciate your sacrifice.
January 30th, 2008 at 12:09 amBy the way, it is guys like you that make TP free from fake right-wing chickenhawkery. And for that I thank you…a LOT!!!
January 30th, 2008 at 12:11 am28. contd
January 30th, 2008 at 12:13 amSo these soldier may sign up to be electronics repair or something of a technical nature. But we dont need guys to repair radios we have AMC contractors to do that, we need gunners and drivers for gun trucks for PSDs, QRFs, and convoy security. So the first and last time they see their job is in their initial entry. It would therefore do them no good to increase in rank and reenlist as electronics repair because they know nothing about the job. Us officers can fake the funk, because we are generalists, but if you’re an NCO in a field we look to you to help us make decisions and you dont know anything about it, the Army is going to have issues.
Bottom line if anyone of you have children or know someone who has children who is thinking about enlisting. Just let them know that no matter what they think they’re going to be doing or how many contracts they signed. That’s not what they’re going to be doing at all. It’s sad. If they think the college money is worth, best case scenario, insomnia, hearing loss, or even brain injury then more power to them. But they at least need to think twice about it and know the reality of what to expect so they can make an informed decision.
January 30th, 2008 at 12:19 amThanks Saybyen91
January 30th, 2008 at 12:21 amYou are right, md. I am the first generation in 4 that has not fought in a war. My great grandfather, my grandfather and my father are all decorated. My gg and my g did what they did in just wars. My father did it in an unjust war and paid a horrible price for it. I will guarantee my son (named after my father) doesn’t suffer the same fate.
January 30th, 2008 at 12:29 amDoes this make you guys want to accelerate troops withdrawal? Our generals think security is tenuous; so, withdraw so it gets worse?
January 30th, 2008 at 9:09 am