Commander sees future troop cuts in Anbar

Commander sees future troop cuts in Anbar
By Lolita C. Baldor - The Associated Press
Posted : Friday Oct 24, 2008 5:57:48 EDT

WASHINGTON — The U.S. commanding general in Iraq’s Anbar province said he is “very optimistic” that troop levels there can come down next year, but he warned that security gaps along the Syrian border and cells of al-Qaida refugees still pose risks.

Marine Maj. Gen. John Kelly told Pentagon reporters Thursday that his forces have redoubled their efforts to help Iraqis shore up their long western border, where insurgents travel back and forth from Syria. But he said that his forces are doing less combat and far more training as their daily mission.

“I would say that I’m very optimistic that we could start to reduce numbers,” Kelly said.

But he warned, “Anbar is not an island. And the people here rely on us ... If it was an island, we could look at doing certain things in terms of drawdown.”

Overall, he painted an upbeat picture of improved security in Anbar, and said his 25,000 troops are training Iraqi police, army and border patrols. And as the central government of Iraq takes hold, particularly after the expected elections in January, he expressed hope that other social, economic and reconstruction needs will be further addressed.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/10/ap_iraq_anbar_102308/%2e



uhc comment: At the beginning of the 'surge' we had 132,000 troops in Iraq. At the moment, we have somewhere between 145,000 to 150,000 boots on the ground.

The net result? No political advances, lots of dead troops, and a shitload of money down the M-I-C hole.