Out of Iraq by 2011?
Monday August 25, 2008
President Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki spoke Friday by secure video as work on a plan to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq by 2011, according to an article in the Air Force Times. The deal being discussed by U.S. and Iraqi negotiators sets a course for American combat troops to pull out of major Iraqi cities by next June, with a broader exit two years later from the long and costly war that began in March 2003.
There are about 140,000 U.S. forces in Iraq, according to United States Central Command, and more than 4,100 American troops have been killed there.
Comments
Side-stepping the politics of U.S. involvement in Iraq, one has to wonder exactly where the spending priorities reside. While the well-publicized state of equipment readiness is known to all, the powers that be decide to allocate monies for new uniforms.
This would be tantamount to starting out on a long road trip on bald tires while commiting huge sums on a paint job. Cost-comparisons notwithstanding, the decision to abandon the Army Greens and adopt a blue-suite replacement, while worn out equipment/vehicles goes unreplaced is nothing short of irresponsible.
If we are to commit Military resources, for one more day or for years-to-come, to OIF, then let those powers-that-be concentrate on supporting that effort.
Let’s save the blue uniforms for the Welcome Home Parades.
Sarge