Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
New York Times
March 22, 2008
Pg. 6
By Steven Lee Myers
WASHINGTON — Senior military commanders have presented the Bush administration with proposals to put off any plans for further reductions of troops in Iraq at least until the end of summer. At the same time, the proposals would limit new deployments to 12 months, instead of 15 months now, military and administration officials said Friday.
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates met for a second day in closed sessions with the Pentagon’s top officers to outline recommendations to be presented to President Bush on Wednesday.
Mr. Bush is to discuss the proposals with the senior commander in Iraq, Gen. David H. Petraeus, in a videoconference on Monday and is expected to make a decision about any additional withdrawals before he leaves on April 1 for a five-day trip to Ukraine, Romania and Croatia, the officials said.
Last September, facing intense pressure from Democrats and even some Republicans in Congress, Mr. Bush announced that he would withdraw five combat brigades and two Marine battalions by July. Those reductions, not yet complete, would effectively return the number of troops in Iraq to roughly 140,000, a level slightly higher than before Mr. Bush ordered the buildup that became known as the “surge.”
Mr. Gates’s spokesman, Geoff Morrell, said four more departing brigades, each with more than 3,000 troops, had yet to leave Iraq, making it difficult to assess the effect on security in Iraq of the reduction of troops ordered last fall. There are now 155,000 American troops in Iraq, down from a peak of 170,000 last fall.
“A pause of some duration is worthwhile to figure out the impact of the rapid withdrawal of the last four surge brigades,” Mr. Morrell said. “So losing those four brigades over the course of four months is going to require some assessment of the impact that has.” He declined to discuss in detail the proposals that Mr. Gates heard in the meetings in recent days.
General Petraeus and other officials have made it clear that they want more time to assess what happens after the withdrawals are completed, leaving 15 combat brigades in Iraq. In his public remarks on Wednesday, the fifth anniversary of the beginning of the war, Mr. Bush strongly suggested that he would not hasten the reductions.
The debate over troop levels in Iraq has caused divisions among senior commanders. Adm. William J. Fallon, the leader of Central Command, which oversees operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, argued publicly for continued withdrawals in Iraq after only a brief pause. That put him at odds with General Petraeus.
Admiral Fallon resigned last week, effective the end of March, saying the perception of differences with Mr. Bush had become a distraction. His resignation prompted accusations that the White House had punished dissenting views about maintaining a large force in Iraq.
A senior administration official said a consensus had formed among senior officers at the Pentagon and in Baghdad about putting off any further discussion of reductions.
One reason for that, the official said, is that it was possible that by July the Army could shorten tours in Iraq by 3 months to 12 months. The extension of tours, which began with the surge last April, has been unpopular among soldiers and officers, and ending them has been one of Mr. Gates’s goals. The official spoke on condition of anonymity in order to discuss internal policy deliberations ahead of Mr. Bush’s decision.
The prospect of a pause in withdrawals, especially a lengthy one, could reignite antiwar feelings on Capitol Hill, which have diminished in intensity since September, when General Petraeus last testified before Congress. Democrats have lately shifted their focus to the costs of the war, which could resonate in a time of economic turmoil at home.
Senator Jack Reed, Democrat of Rhode Island, said it would be a mistake not to continue “a careful but deliberate” reduction in troops. “You’ve got to signal to the Army and the Marine Corps that this treadmill in and out of Iraq is going to stop,” he said in a telephone interview.
Senator Reed, a former Army infantry officer and a member of the Armed Services Committee, also said a long pause would ease pressure on Iraqi leaders to make greater strides toward improving security and governance.
March 22, 2008
Pg. 6
By Steven Lee Myers
WASHINGTON — Senior military commanders have presented the Bush administration with proposals to put off any plans for further reductions of troops in Iraq at least until the end of summer. At the same time, the proposals would limit new deployments to 12 months, instead of 15 months now, military and administration officials said Friday.
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates met for a second day in closed sessions with the Pentagon’s top officers to outline recommendations to be presented to President Bush on Wednesday.
Mr. Bush is to discuss the proposals with the senior commander in Iraq, Gen. David H. Petraeus, in a videoconference on Monday and is expected to make a decision about any additional withdrawals before he leaves on April 1 for a five-day trip to Ukraine, Romania and Croatia, the officials said.
Last September, facing intense pressure from Democrats and even some Republicans in Congress, Mr. Bush announced that he would withdraw five combat brigades and two Marine battalions by July. Those reductions, not yet complete, would effectively return the number of troops in Iraq to roughly 140,000, a level slightly higher than before Mr. Bush ordered the buildup that became known as the “surge.”
Mr. Gates’s spokesman, Geoff Morrell, said four more departing brigades, each with more than 3,000 troops, had yet to leave Iraq, making it difficult to assess the effect on security in Iraq of the reduction of troops ordered last fall. There are now 155,000 American troops in Iraq, down from a peak of 170,000 last fall.
“A pause of some duration is worthwhile to figure out the impact of the rapid withdrawal of the last four surge brigades,” Mr. Morrell said. “So losing those four brigades over the course of four months is going to require some assessment of the impact that has.” He declined to discuss in detail the proposals that Mr. Gates heard in the meetings in recent days.
General Petraeus and other officials have made it clear that they want more time to assess what happens after the withdrawals are completed, leaving 15 combat brigades in Iraq. In his public remarks on Wednesday, the fifth anniversary of the beginning of the war, Mr. Bush strongly suggested that he would not hasten the reductions.
The debate over troop levels in Iraq has caused divisions among senior commanders. Adm. William J. Fallon, the leader of Central Command, which oversees operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, argued publicly for continued withdrawals in Iraq after only a brief pause. That put him at odds with General Petraeus.
Admiral Fallon resigned last week, effective the end of March, saying the perception of differences with Mr. Bush had become a distraction. His resignation prompted accusations that the White House had punished dissenting views about maintaining a large force in Iraq.
A senior administration official said a consensus had formed among senior officers at the Pentagon and in Baghdad about putting off any further discussion of reductions.
One reason for that, the official said, is that it was possible that by July the Army could shorten tours in Iraq by 3 months to 12 months. The extension of tours, which began with the surge last April, has been unpopular among soldiers and officers, and ending them has been one of Mr. Gates’s goals. The official spoke on condition of anonymity in order to discuss internal policy deliberations ahead of Mr. Bush’s decision.
The prospect of a pause in withdrawals, especially a lengthy one, could reignite antiwar feelings on Capitol Hill, which have diminished in intensity since September, when General Petraeus last testified before Congress. Democrats have lately shifted their focus to the costs of the war, which could resonate in a time of economic turmoil at home.
Senator Jack Reed, Democrat of Rhode Island, said it would be a mistake not to continue “a careful but deliberate” reduction in troops. “You’ve got to signal to the Army and the Marine Corps that this treadmill in and out of Iraq is going to stop,” he said in a telephone interview.
Senator Reed, a former Army infantry officer and a member of the Armed Services Committee, also said a long pause would ease pressure on Iraqi leaders to make greater strides toward improving security and governance.