Officials: Iraq Violence May Forestall U.S. Drawdown In Iraq

Officials: Iraq violence may forestall U.S. drawdown in Iraq

http://rawstory.com/news/2006/Offici...U.S._0227.html

(Gold9472: As Ray McGovern recently said about the Mosque bombing, "The main question is Qui Bono? Who benefits from this kind of thing?" You may have just found out.)

Published: February 27, 2006

The recent explosion of violence in Iraq is forcing a debate inside the Pentagon about whether the U.S. military can proceed with plans to cut the number of troops in Iraq, Defense officials said Monday, The Los Angeles Times is set to frontpage in Tuesday editions, RAW STORY has learned.

Excerpts:

The violence came at a crucial time for the U.S. military: Top generals must decide within weeks whether to carry out a long-anticipated reduction in American troops this summer. Threats of civil war in the country have raised questions about the wisdom of a troop drawdown in the next few months.

"One perspective certainly is that with so much turmoil, how can you possibly think about drawing down at this point?'' said one senior Defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity because decisions on troop levels have yet to be made.

For nearly a year, senior commanders have said that political progress in Baghdad and the development of new Iraqi army units could lead to a substantial U.S. troop reduction this year. They have pointed to mid-2006 as a pivotal period, making pending decisions on troop levels a telling indicator of progress.

Defense officials said that Army Gens. John P. Abizaid and George W. Casey, the top U.S. commanders in Iraq, soon will travel to Washington to advise President Bush on future troop levels. Because the moves under consideration will be critical to overall U.S. progress in Iraq this year, Abizaid and Casey will travel to Washington to brief the president in person, officials said.

"The president wants to hear it directly from the commanders, so he can get the straight scoop,'' said the senior Defense official.