Afghan Cuts Begin, U.S. Troops Diverted to Iraq

Source: Bloomberg

Afghan Cuts Begin, U.S. Troops Diverted to Iraq
By Viola Gienger - Jun 16, 2011 1:41 PM PT

The Pentagon effectively began paring U.S. forces in Afghanistan, even before President Barack Obama decides on the full size of the promised reduction, by re- routing 800 soldiers that were in training for the conflict.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Admiral Mike Mullen, Obama’s top military adviser, said today that they have approved a recommendation from Army General David Petraeus, the top U.S. and coalition commander in Afghanistan, to go without two battalions that were due to arrive in the war zone after July 1.

The forces are being diverted as the Obama administration considers how much to cut troop strength in Afghanistan to meet the president’s December 2009 pledge of starting to reduce the U.S. presence there next month. The U.S. has almost 100,000 forces in Afghanistan, alongside 47,000 from other countries in the NATO-led coalition.

The soldiers will head to Kuwait to help with the remaining 48,000-strong U.S. training and support mission in neighboring Iraq.

Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-16/afghan-cuts-begin-troops-diverted-to-iraq.html

Or trainers?

them from one country to the other and call it paring down?

But the network news told me that all the soldiers in Iraq came home and the war was over there. /sarcasm.

Looks like things are heating back up in Iraq again.

The neocons want us there forever and it looks like they're going to get their way.

The headline has apparently been changed by Bloomberg. Now it reads "Pentagon Starts Paring Troops in Afghan War as Drawdown Looms".

brilliant! The rubes never catch on.

A reduction of . . . hmmmm. 800? Out of an "official" force of nearly 100,000? That doesn't sound like quite such a big deal. Adn they're not coming home, but going to Iraq where things were quite recently all sweetness and light, according to the popular media.

Well, I'm sure it's all as good as it could possibly be, and looking for anything better would just mark me as someone who's going to vote Green or Republican or something, so I'll just shut my yap and wave my flag. Nobody is going to accuse me of wanting to impeach the president!

same with Iraq. how infantilizing of the US