US forces leave some bases in north Iraq: general

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. military forces in north-central Iraq have closed 10 of their 27 forward operating bases this year and will turn over the Tikrit palace complex of former President Saddam Hussein to the Iraqi government next month, a senior American general said on Friday.

Tikrit is the hometown of Saddam, who is now in prison near Baghdad facing trial on war crimes charges.

Army Maj. Gen. Joseph Taluto, commander of the U.S. 42nd Infantry Division, told Pentagon reporters in a teleconference from Iraq that progress had been made since February in training and equipping Iraqi forces to take over military operations from U.S. troops.

But Taluto added that despite moving American forces away from the 10 forward bases in the area that he has commanded since February, he could not predict a major withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq next year.

Reuters

that have just been build? I've noticed that the troops level has increased to 161,000.

Nothing in this article reveals that fact.

Reuters News

Part of the "force protection" strategy.
I think this is also supposed to sort of dangle
a carrot in front of the Iraqis. As far as
the permanent bases, I don't know.

There will be four or five mega enduring bses for the USA to operate from for the next 30 years or so.