Bush Cutting U.S. Combat Troops in Iraq, Non-deployment

[SaraDinar]

Note that it is not JUST a cut, but also encompasses a non-deployment.. and I thought that significant enough to note, below. It is good to see the Iraqi forces strengthening to the point where this is possible.
Sara.

Bush Cutting U.S. Combat Troops in Iraq
By ROBERT BURNS, AP Military Writer Dec 23, 2005

Rumsfeld did not reveal the exact size of the troop cut, but Pentagon officials have said it could be as much as 7,000 combat troops. The Pentagon has not announced a timetable for troop reductions, but indications are that the force could be cut significantly by the end of 2006.

Rumsfeld said two Army brigades that had been scheduled for combat tours — one from Fort Riley, Kan., the other now in Kuwait — would no longer deploy to Iraq. That would reduce the number of combat brigades in Iraq from 17 to 15.

"The effect of these adjustments will reduce forces in Iraq by the spring of 2006 below the current high of 160,000 during the (Iraqi) election period to below the 138,000 baseline that had existed before the most recent elections," the defense secretary said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051223/...mi_ea/rumsfeld