Posted on 10/16/2009 6:13:30 PM PDT by Jet Jaguar
The US military on Friday cancelled plans to send a 3,500-strong Army brigade to Iraq because of improving security conditions there, possibly freeing up troops for the war in Afghanistan. The 1st Infantry Brigade Combat Team from the 10th Mountain Division based in Fort Drum, New York, had been scheduled to relieve another combat brigade in Iraq in January but will not deploy, the Defense Department said in a statement.
With the US commander in Afghanistan asking for major reinforcements, the move could provide another brigade for the troubled mission if President Barack Obama decides to approve the troop request.
"The decision was based on a thorough assessment of the security environment in Iraq and reflects the continued improvement in the ability of the Iraqi Security Forces to safeguard Iraqi citizens and institutions," the statement said.
The brigade "will return to the Army's pool of available combat forces," it said.
The US commander in Iraq, General Ray Odierno, has said he wants to retain a larger force in the country to maintain security for elections due in January before a planned drawdown of forces down to 50,000 by the end of August 2010.
About 119,000 US troops are currently stationed in Iraq, down from about 140,000 at the beginning of the year.
(Excerpt) Read more at breitbart.com ...
Why the hell does the Commie usurper have to be involved in this decision? Can't the military just do things, like in Honduras?
Good! I just got back from that trash heap and we shouldn’t be there, period. Besides, 1st-10’th Mountain have deployed more months than almost anybody in the entire military.
Agreed. Latest news from an AF friend. The majority of the Army is sitting inside the wire with no real mission. Idle.
Yep. The last two and a half months of my deployment (From June through August) we did nothing. When we were doing patrols, we were sitting ducks because we weren’t allowed to be on the offensive, only on defense. We would roll around and get hit and do nothing about it due to our rules of engagement. We were just there for show and the police would make friends with the terrorists by suddenly turning on us and shooting us up close after they gained out trust. The same thing is happening in Afghanistan right now. We were meant to go in and wipe a place clean and then leave the mess to them. Now we wipe it clean and then stick around and let the enemy plink us while we try to repair the damage. Politically correct wars will NEVER work and are immoral to us troops who sacrifice it all.
Welcome Home,,,
My house-mate’s son is in the 2nd.BCT.10th.Mt.and is in
Kuwait now,,,(Task Force Commando),,,(3rd.tour),,,
She got the news from his wife today,,,
He’s spent 28 months in combat so far,,,
Last tour was 18 months at Mahmudiyh,,,
One damned raid after another...
I have been expecting this.
1/10 BCT is one of the few BCTs in the pipeline not AAB configured and it is a light brigade.
Watch for a US Marine MEB to be announced to reinforce Afghan along with the retasking 1/10 BCT...
They will not be getting a break. Just diverting from Iraq to Afghan like the USMC RCTs that left Anbar...
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