troop drawdown

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US Nears Decision on Post-2014 Afghan Presence

Gen. John Allen's recommendations under review as scandal grabs him

(Newser) - In the coming weeks, the US will make a decision on the number of troops to remain in Afghanistan after the planned drawdown in 2014, Reuters reports. "My hope is that we'll be able to complete this process in the next few weeks," says Defense Secretary Leon...

4,000 US Troops May Stay in Iraq
 3K US Troops May Stay in Iraq 
Sep 7, 2011 1:38 AM CDT

3K US Troops May Stay in Iraq

Total pullout deadline apparently off

(Newser) - The last US troops in Iraq could be there for a long time. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta wants to leave 3,000 service members beyond the pullout deadline promised by President Obama. No final decision has been made and discussions are continuing with the Iraqis, an administrative source tells CNN...

Adm. Mullen: For Smooth Iraq Withdrawal, 'Now Is the Time'

Further delay of Iraq government's decision could jeopardize smooth transition

(Newser) - Iraq's indecision on whether to ask American forces to stay beyond the end of the year is pushing the US close to the point where a smooth, safe troop withdrawal will be jeopardized, the top US military officer said today upon arriving in the country. Adm. Mike Mullen said...

In Afghanistan, US Troops Begin to Withdraw

The first of them left this week

(Newser) - President Obama's troop drawdown has begun: About 650 troops left after their rotations ended Wednesday, and they will not be replaced. "As part of the drawdown the first US troops have left Afghanistan," says a military spokesperson. About a third of the 100,000 US forces in...

US Shuts Down Afghan Student Exchange Program

Last year, half fled program for Canada

(Newser) - The State Department has suspended its student exchange program with Afghanistan as more participants started abandoning the program and fleeing to Canada instead of returning home. The Youth Exchange and Study program has brought hundreds of Afghan students to the US since 2004, but the State Department quietly put it...

US Willing to Leave 10K Troops in Iraq

But unless formal request is made, only 200 will remain in 2012

(Newser) - The deadline for the departure of most American troops from Iraq arrives at the end of this year, but the White House is prepared to keep up to 10,000 troops in place after that point. Of course, such a move would require Iraq's deeply divided government making a...

France Backs Obama's Afghan Drawdown, Plans Its Own

Sarkozy has 4,000 troops there

(Newser) - A mere 12 hours after President Obama spoke on his Afghanistan drawdown, France offered its support for the plan. It will also begin a pullout of its 4,000 troops next month, “in a proportional manner and in a timeframe similar to the pullback of the American reinforcements,”...

Speech Was Obama's 'Mission Accomplished'
 Speech Was Obama's 
 'Mission Accomplished' 
Dana Milbank
Jun 23, 2011 6:55 AM CDT

Speech Was Obama's 'Mission Accomplished'

All he needed was a flight suit

(Newser) - He may not have unfurled a banner or donned a flight suit, “but make no mistake: President Obama gave his own version of a ‘mission accomplished’ speech last night,” writes Dana Milbank of the Washington Post . Last night the president declared—“perhaps prematurely”—that the...

US Left 30K Iraqi Detainees to Be Tortured
 US Left 30K 
 Iraqi Detainees 
 to Be Tortured 
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
Sep 13, 2010 5:41 PM CDT

US Left 30K Iraqi Detainees to Be Tortured

Troop pullout leaves a slew of untried inmates

(Newser) - The US is turning a blind eye to the systematic abuse of detainees in Iraq's prisons, a report by Amnesty International claims. The transfer of prisoners from US-run detention centers to Iraqi facilities is a less-discussed aspect of the American pullout, but has flooded a system that remains rife with...

Gates: Troops May Leave Iraq Early

(Newser) - The United States is considering speeding up its withdrawal from Iraq because of the sustained drop in violence there, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said today, following discussions with his top commanders in the war. "I think there's at least some chance of a modest acceleration," this year, Gates...

12K US Troops to Leave Iraq by Fall

US will turn over facilities to Iraqi control starting this month

(Newser) - A total of 12000 American and 4000 British troops will leave Iraq by September, the US military said today, just hours after a suicide bomber killed 32 people at the entrance of Baghdad's main police academy. The blast—the second major attack to hit Iraqis in 3 days and the...

What the Candidates Should Be Talking About
What the Candidates Should Be Talking About
OPINION
Apr 28, 2008 8:23 PM CDT

What the Candidates Should Be Talking About

LA Times editors take a break from nonsense and turn to issues

(Newser) - Quick, before the public completely loses interest: Let’s leave aside “guns, bitterness, race, religion, geriatric radicals and other trivia,” and turn to real presidential political issues, Los Angeles Times editors write. They pose some questions that most need answering:
  • For John McCain: You voted against giving workers
...

Bush Backs Petraeus' Pause
 Bush Backs Petraeus' Pause 
Apr 10, 2008 12:22 PM CDT

Bush Backs Petraeus' Pause

President warns Iran against arming Iraqi militants

(Newser) - Vowing that Gen. David Petraeus will have “all the time he needs” in Iraq, President Bush today announced a pause, from August until at least mid-September, in withdrawal of troops from Iraq, CNN reports. Citing the post-surge security gains, Bush said, “we have renewed and revived the prospect...

Bush to Shorten Iraq Tours, Halt Drawdowns

Combat tours shortened to one year

(Newser) - President Bush is expected to announce today that the drawdown of US troops in Iraq will be suspended—once forces reach their presurge level in July—because of a resurgence of fighting, reports the Washington Post. The decision, urged by Gen. David Petraeus, means the number of troops in Iraq...

Petraeus Sees No New Troop Buildup in Iraq

General wraps up two days of testimony before Congress

(Newser) - Gen. David H. Petraeus told the House Armed Forces Committee today that he does not foresee another buildup of US armed forces in Iraq, calling the possibility of a new surge "a pretty remote thought in my mind." If violences escalates again, the Army will make do with...

Support for Iraq War Highest Since 2006

Poll finds 53% believe US will succeed; McCain stands to benefit

(Newser) - Americans' support for the Iraq war is at its highest since the summer of 2006, with some 53% believing the 6-year-old US mission will succeed in bringing stability to the country—up from 42% in September, Politico reports. A February Pew Research Center poll found 48% of Americans believe the...

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