On Wednesday, Central Command chief Gen. Frank McKenzie provided new details on troop cuts, including some of the first official specifics on cutting Iraq force levels, something the administration only brought up publicly in recent weeks.
Gen. McKenzie said that the US troop levels in Iraq, officially at 5,200, will be down to 3,000 by the end of this month. That’s an unusually fast turnaround time, and likely reflective of them wanting the cuts ahead of the November election.
He says the cuts in Iraq are based on conditions on the ground, and had been in the works for months. The first public indication from the administration was during the visit of the Iraqi PM last month.
McKenzie also offered an update on the Afghanistan drawdown, saying that the current level of 8,600 wound be down to 4,500 by late October. This figure was roughly announced in the past, but details show that they’re still on track for that.
What countries are they being sent to?
Well, you sure as hell know they aren’t coming home to actually defend America for a change.
That would be what some call “crazy talk.”
Sir: President Trump can’t dare do against the Military, whom, he accuses to carry on Wars for benefits of War Industries etc., etc., It’s just another election mantra?
10,000 from Germany will take years but we can do 2,200 in three weeks from
Iraq. Somebody doing the planning for the Iraq drawdown call the guy doing the planning for the Germany drawdown and let him know your secret.
Easy, you just create another column on the spreadsheet and don’t let anyone see it. That way they never actually have to leave. And in Germany, the drug, alcohol, prostitution, and golf industries are going to be hit too hard for a quick exit. Not as much to worry about in Iraq.
It is election time — time to tell the voters who waited years for it. And after INCREASING troops all over the place, including Afghanistan, Iraq, Africa, Asia-Pacific AND Europe under the guise of rotating. And in the meantime Congress is doing absolutely nothing as more people go into poverty.
Considering transparency of US deployments I’ll give it all a flaccid hurrah….
It’s called a toe hold, and it’s generally not seen as an authentically peaceful maneuver.
Don’t worry, I’ll just leave the tip in.
And how many Xe/CIA/NSA, etc. are also going to remain? Just enough to rig the next election, or are some of those coming home to rig ours?