Official: U.S. to Reduce Troops in Iraq

Washington Times ^ | 1/17/04 | Vijay Josay

[Tumbleweed_Connection]

Iraq (AP) -- A U.S. troop rotation trimming forces by 20 percent in Iraq will replace heavy weaponry with high-tech, mobile fighting gear meant to counter the hit-and-run attacks of a changing enemy, a senior Army official said Saturday.

Most of the 130,000 troops serving in Iraq will begin returning home or to their foreign bases over the next four to six months. They will be replaced by a less heavily armed force of about 105,000 in the largest troop rotation since World War II, a senior Army official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Troops will be given 323 high-tech fighting vehicles known as Strykers, reinforced armored Humvees and infantry armored personnel carriers to counter hit-and-run attacks and roadside bombings - the primary methods of anti-American insurgents.

"We no longer have to fear about tank battalions, tank brigades and tank divisions. It is a different enemy now," the official said.

The Stryker is an eight-wheeled vehicle with onboard computers; it can carry as many as 11 soldiers and traveler faster than 60 miles per hour.

Only 150 M-1 Abrams tanks will remain compared to 600 now. Howitzer cannons will be reduced in number from 250 to 100, and all 94 multiple rocket launchers will be sent back.

The number of Apache helicopters will be reduced from 140 to a mixed force of 100 Apaches and Cobras. The Black Hawk helicopters will dip in number from 350 to 200.

However, mechanized infantry fighting vehicles will go up in number from 600 to probably over 850.

The new equipment and fighting machinery is aimed to "scare and deter" domestic and foreign terrorists who attack coalition forces, the official said.

"We want them to understand that we maintain the capability to capture them or kill them," he said. "We are not going to apologize for that."

The military will also reduce logistics support - sending tanks back home will make their mechanics and support staff redundant. Also reduced will be bridge companies and radio signal companies as the Army establishes itself in the country and begins to make use of civilian phones.

Much of the reduction will be in northern Iraq, where minority Kurds are the closest coalition allies. The number of troops will go down in the north from about 19,000 to 9,500, but they will be equipped with the highly mobile Stryker vehicles, said the official.

The official said the reductions are possible because "frankly we don't see a regeneration of (enemy) offensive capability any time soon."

The troop replacement will take place gradually with an overlap of 10-15 days for units to show newcomers the ropes. Patrols will include newcomers and veterans familiar with the terrain and the enemy, the official said.

The number of troops from other countries in the coalition will remain the same at about 25,000, he said.

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