Exit strategy is still forming

Exit strategy is still forming
Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Thursday, March 19, 2009

As the endgame of the U.S. involvement in Iraq develops, some plans are in place but there are several practical questions that remain unanswered.

Under the withdrawal plan announced by President Barack Obama in late February, some 35,000 to 50,000 U.S. troops will remain in Iraq from summer 2010 to the end of 2011. Their mission is supposed to be limited to training Iraqi forces, conducting counter-terrorism operations, and protecting U.S. civilian and military personnel operating in the country.

Some of the previous ideas about a continuing U.S. presence in the region have been changed, officials said.

A senior U.S. officer told Stars and Stripes this week that a plan for an "over the horizon" force in Kuwait is not an option.

"No," he said simply, when asked if that was still on the table.


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=61436