Leave a Comment

Removing Combat Brigades from Iraq
Outside The Beltway | OTB — ... Barack Obama has been President Elect for just two days and already we’re reducing the number of combat brigades in Iraq: Gen. David H. Petraeus has decided to reduce the number of U.S. combat brigades in Iraq from 15 to 14 about six weeks earlier than planned, as a result of dramatically lower violence there, Pentagon officials said yesterday.“The hope is they can come home before Christmas,” Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell said of the decision. The plan accelerates the withdrawal from Iraq of a 101st Airborne Division brigade of 3,500 to 4,000 troops that will not be ...

Thursday's Mini-Report
Political Animal — ... . * CentCom Commander Gen. David Petraeus has reduced troop levels in Iraq by one brigade . * Rahm Emanuel's role as the next White House chief of staff was ...

Brigade In Iraq Will Deploy Out 6 Weeks Early
Pirate's Cove — Wait, things are going well in Iraq? The Surge is fulfilling its intentions? Holy Cow, Cartman! Gen. David H. Petraeus has decided to reduce the number of U.S. combat brigades in Iraq from 15 to 14 about six weeks earlier than planned, as a result of dramatically lower violence there, Pentagon officials said yesterday. Underpinning the decision to speed the brigade’s return is a continuing drop in attacks and troop casualties in Iraq, officials said. October had fewer than 1,000 “security incidents” nationwide ...

Brigade In Iraq Will Deploy Out 6 Weeks Early
Stop The ACLU — Wait, things are going well in Iraq? The Surge is fulfilling its intentions ? Holy Cow, Cartman! Gen. David H. Petraeus has decided to reduce the number of U.S. combat brigades in Iraq from 15 to 14 about six weeks earlier than planned, as a result of dramatically lower violence there, Pentagon officials said yesterday. Underpinning the decision to speed the brigade’s return is a continuing drop in attacks and troop casualties in Iraq, officials said. October had fewer than 1,000 “security incidents” nationwide in Iraq, the lowest monthly number since January 2004, ...

Rakkasans Come Marching home
Mudville Gazette — ... that the 2nd Brigade, 101st Airborne Division, which had been based in northwest Baghdad, will return home six weeks early. The unit that was scheduled to replace them will deploy to Afghanistan instead. ...

Tom Engelhardt: Stuff Happens: The Pentagon's Argument of Last Resort on Iraq
Politics on HuffingtonPost.com — ... Some have estimated, however, that simply getting each of the 14 combat brigades still stationed in Iraq on January 20, 2009, out with all their equipment might take up to 75 days per brigade. (If you do the math, that's 36 months, and even that wouldn't suffice if you wanted to remove everything else we now have in that California-sized country.) ...

Stuff Happens: The Pentagon's Argument of Last Resort on Iraq
Antiwar.com Original — ... We are the Neiman Marcus and the Wal-Mart of combat. Where we go, our "stuff" goes with us – in such prodigious quantities that removing it is going to prove more daunting than invading in the first place. After all, it took less than a year to put in place the 130,000-plus invasion force, and all its equipment and support outfits from bases all around the world, as well as the air power and naval power to match. Some have estimated, however, that simply getting each of the 14 combat brigades still stationed in Iraq on January 20, 2009, out with all their equipment might ...

Stuff Happens
The Latest on Air America — ... We are the Neiman Marcus and the Wal-Mart of combat. Where we go, our "stuff" goes with us -- in such prodigious quantities that removing it is going to prove more daunting than invading in the first place. After all, it took less than a year to put in place the 130,000-plus invasion force, and all its equipment and support outfits from bases all around the world, as well as the air power and naval power to match. Some have estimated, however, that simply getting each of the 14 combat brigades still stationed in Iraq on January 20, 2009, out with all their equipment might ...

Transitioning From Surrender To Victory
JustOneMinute — ... Obama to announce the new national security team, made clear that the direction of troop levels now had been decided, with the only decisions remaining on how fast and how low. “And so the question is, How do we do this in a responsible way?” Mr. Gates said. “And nobody wants to put at risk the gains that have been achieved, with so much sacrifice, on the part of our soldiers and the Iraqis, at this point.” I have not done the math but there are currently 15 combat brigades in Iraq; current plans seem to call for an additional three brigades (and support troops) in ...

Diversions (II)
Mudville Gazette — ... of 2009". And on September 30, 2008 the DoD announced seven brigade combat teams' deployments "will begin in the winter and continue into Summer 2009." That's one year of deployments - from Fall of 2008 through summer, 2009. With each serving 12 month tours, the total number of Brigades in Iraq at the end of the period would be 22 (ignoring for this discussion the Regimental Combat Teams). And how many are there now? According to this Washington Post report from November, 2008, there are 14: Gen. ...