The Spectacle Blog
A few minutes ago, Lt. Gen. Jim Conway (operations boss for the Joint Chiefs) gave some new information on the troop reductions planned for Iraq. The Second Brigade of the Army's First Armored Division will be stationed, for 90 days or more, in Kuwait as a "call forward" force. In effect, this is a vote of confidence in Iraqi forces. We can move the 2nd of the 1st into Iraq quickly if it's needed, but by putting it outside Iraq we're telling the Iraqis we think they can handle that much more of the security in their own nation. Gen. Conway said that another brigade, this one from the 1st Infantry Division, will be held at home in Fort Riley, Kansas.
As of today, there are about 216,000 Iraqi troops trained and equipped, with 44 battalions that "own their ground." As Gen. Conway said, the trend lines are going in the right direction.
Leave a comment
Leave a Comment
Related Blog Posts
More Blog Posts by Jed Babbin
http://spectator.org/blog/2005/12/23/call-forward
Follow us:
ADVERTISEMENT
Current Issue
- Tenured and Powerless
- The One Percenters’ Fortress City
- Why I Voted "No" on Ryan
SPONSORED LINKS
Special Feature
Better that we become a nation of choosers rather than beggars. Our symposium on choice from the May, 2012 issue:
FLASHBACK TO: 1984
-
The Fairness Delusion
The speech our President should make.
-
Media Smears: One Man’s Experiences
A noted economist fires back.
-
Chuck Colson vs. The Fundamentalists
How political can you get?
-
The Reagan Doctrine
You might have missed it, but it was boomed in January.
-
The Woman Problem
Farcical feminism is a decades-old phenomenon, as George Will's essay from 1970 reminds us.
Clip of the Day
ADVERTISEMENT
