Officials: ‘Most’ US troops to Leave Iraq by August 2010

Obama Expected to Make Announcement Later This Week

by Jason Ditz, February 24, 2009

Officials say that the Obama Administration intends to have most troops out of Iraq by August 2010, replacing the president’s 16 month timetable from the campaign with a 19 month one that would end with a considerable “residual force” beyond that date.

President Obama will reportedly make an announcement sometime this week with regards to the plan, which could see as many as 100,000 troops pulled from the nation after nearly six years of war. It is at this point unclear how many of those troops will be returning home and how many will be shifting to Afghanistan.

There are currently 142,000 US troops in Iraq, and the officials say between 30,000 and 50,000 troops will remain after August 2010, in addition to an undefined number of surveillance specialists and equipment.

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