Home  News Latest Bush to pull 8,000 troops
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Bush to pull 8,000 troops |
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Sunday, 14 September 2008 |
President George Bush made a minor concession to pull troops out of
Iraq when he announced in a speech at the National Defense University
on Tuesday that he will pull out 8,000 members by February of 2009.
However, he also indicated he would keep the U.S. force in Iraq largely
intact until the new president takes office in January.
Bush’s concession has not met the requirements of Democratic
presidential candidate, Barack Obama, and other Democrats who have been
calling for the Iraq war to be significantly scaled down and more
troops deployed to an increasingly troubled Afghanistan where the
Taliban has reorganized, and there is increased violence.
Obama called Bush’s plan to reduce the (combat and support) troops by 8,000 “coming up short.” Obama who throughout his presidential campaign has said that he would pull U.S. combat troops out of Iraq by mid 2010 or within 16 months of taking office, told reporters while on the campaign trail in Ohio, that 8,000 was not enough troops, not enough resources and not enough urgency.
Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said he was stunned that President Bush has decided to bring so few troops home from Iraq, while sending so few resources to Afghanistan.
John McCain, Republican nominee, is also in agreement that more troops are needed in Afghanistan, but said he would rely on the advice of U.S. military commanders to determine the timing and pace of troop reductions in Iraq.
It was expected in some quarters that Bush would have announced a larger withdrawal of combat troops from Iraq prior to the general elections and prior to his demitting office in January. In making the announcement Bush did add that he was moving forward with additional force reductions, and that more U.S. forces could be withdrawn in the first half of 2009 if conditions improve in Iraq.
However, if and when this happens that decision would be the responsibility of the new president. In an attempt to justify the smaller than anticipated troop withdrawal, Bush said that the enemy in Iraq is still dangerous, although the U.S. has seized the offensive and Iraqi forces are becoming increasingly capable of leading and winning the fight.
The 8,000-troop drawdown represents just 5 percent of the 146,000 U.S. troops in Iraq now.
President Bush also outlined what he referred to as a "quiet surge" of additional American forces in Afghanistan which would increase U.S troops there to some 31,000, about a fifth the total troops in Iraq. He said that a Marine battalion that had been scheduled to go to Iraq in November would go to Afghanistan instead, and that that would be followed by one Army combat brigade.
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