Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
Washington Times
April 5, 2008
Pg. 6
By Associated Press
The Bush administration plans to announce next week that U.S. soldiers' combat tours will be reduced from 15 months to 12 months in Iraq and Afghanistan beginning later this summer, the Associated Press has learned.
The decision, expected to get final approval in the days ahead, comes as Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, prepares to deliver a progress report to Congress next week on the improved security situation there. He is also expected to make recommendations for future troop levels.
A senior administration official said yesterday that plans are to deploy soldiers for 12 months, then give them 12 months rest time at home. Exactly which units would be affected is not yet clear. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity ahead of the announcement.
The move to shorter deployments has been pushed by Gen. George Casey, Army chief of staff, as a way to reduce the strain on troops battered by long and repeated tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. But that goal has been hindered by the ongoing security demands in Iraq.
Officials have been publicly tight-lipped in recent days about the move to reduce the tours. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said yesterday he expected a decision by President Bush "fairly soon" on the Army's proposal. But he also cautioned that cutting troops' time on the battlefront will impose limits on what the military can do in the future.
What the future holds for troops in Iraq will become clearer when Gen. Petraeus goes before congressional committees Tuesday.
Gen. Petraeus is expected to lay out his proposal for a pause in troop cuts after July when the last of the five additional brigades ordered to Iraq last year have come home. And he will likely tell lawmakers how many more troops could be withdrawn this year, as long as conditions in Iraq remain stable.
April 5, 2008
Pg. 6
By Associated Press
The Bush administration plans to announce next week that U.S. soldiers' combat tours will be reduced from 15 months to 12 months in Iraq and Afghanistan beginning later this summer, the Associated Press has learned.
The decision, expected to get final approval in the days ahead, comes as Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, prepares to deliver a progress report to Congress next week on the improved security situation there. He is also expected to make recommendations for future troop levels.
A senior administration official said yesterday that plans are to deploy soldiers for 12 months, then give them 12 months rest time at home. Exactly which units would be affected is not yet clear. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity ahead of the announcement.
The move to shorter deployments has been pushed by Gen. George Casey, Army chief of staff, as a way to reduce the strain on troops battered by long and repeated tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. But that goal has been hindered by the ongoing security demands in Iraq.
Officials have been publicly tight-lipped in recent days about the move to reduce the tours. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said yesterday he expected a decision by President Bush "fairly soon" on the Army's proposal. But he also cautioned that cutting troops' time on the battlefront will impose limits on what the military can do in the future.
What the future holds for troops in Iraq will become clearer when Gen. Petraeus goes before congressional committees Tuesday.
Gen. Petraeus is expected to lay out his proposal for a pause in troop cuts after July when the last of the five additional brigades ordered to Iraq last year have come home. And he will likely tell lawmakers how many more troops could be withdrawn this year, as long as conditions in Iraq remain stable.