. 24/7 Space News .
US Will Likely Begin Drawdown Of Iraq Force Next Year: General

US soldiers from Charlie Rock Company 1/184 Infantry, Air Assault, are briefed before leaving their base at Falcon Camp, southern Baghdad to go on combat patrol, early morning 22 June 2005. US troops may start withdrawing from Iraq in March, a US general said Tuesday, as the new US ambassador to the war-torn country pledged to help Iraqis crush a ruthless insurgency. AFP photo by Yuri Cortez.
Washington (AFP) Jun 21, 2005
The US military will probably begin withdrawing some forces from Iraq by March 2006, a top US commander said Tuesday, predicting the insurgency will be defeated if the country's political factions come together.

Lieutenant General John Vines, the number two US commander in Iraq, said any drawdown would depend on conditions on the ground.

He predicted the insurgency would decline rapidly if the country's Sunnis, Shia and Kurds can agree on a constitution and elect a government that has broad support.

But he said as many as four or five US brigades probably would be withdrawn in March.

"I suspect we will probably draw down capability after the elections because Iraqi security forces are more capable," Vines said in a two-way press conference here via video-link from Iraq.

"So what I would think is we would continually assess, bring down part of the forces, assess what the conditions are, what those effects are, and then continue to do that.

"To rapidly cut it without any significant change in conditions or without time to assess them, I would think, would not be a wise course of action," he said.

Vines generally upbeat assessment of the situation in Iraq comes amid eroding public support in the United States for operations in Iraq and calls by members of Congress from both parties for setting a timetable for the withdrawal of the estimated 135,000 US troops there.

President George W. Bush on Monday reaffirmed the US resolve despite an unrelenting insurgent campaign of suicide bombings, roadside explosions and attacks. More than 1,700 US troops have been killed in Iraq in the last two years.

Vines said he opposed announcing a timetable for withdrawal, as called for by some US lawmakers.

"That's an arbitrary decision that's just based on a calendar. And I don't think that necessarily meshes with the conditions the way we might see here in-country," he said.

Despite the high levels of violence, the general said the insurgency was "relatively static," neither expanding nor contracting.

If the transitional government succeeds in drafting a constitution that is broadly acceptable to the country's Sunni, Shia and Kurd communities and it is ratified, he said, "my assessment is the insurgency could dwindle down very quickly."

"Our responsibility is to provide space and time for this process to work so that this new government and the constitutional process - the election process is allowed to proceed without being murdered in its infancy by insurgents who don't want to see it succeed," he said.

The constitution now being drafted is supposed to be ratified in a referendum in October, which would be followed by elections for a new government in December, completing a transition to sovereignty that began a year ago.

Vines said the insurgency is being sustained from outside the country by leaders who pay for attacks inside Iraq and facilitate a flow of foreign fighters through Syria. He said there was no indication of direct Syrian government involvement.

About 75-150 foreign fighters from Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Sudan enter Iraq a month for suicide and other operations that Iraqis will not do, he said. Iraqis, meanwhile, are being paid as little as 150 dollars to plant a roadside bomb, he said.

"What we don't see are groups of 200 or 300 or 400 people operating together. What we don't see is them controlling cities. What we see are small cells that pay people to attack the coalition," he said.

"So intelligence-wise, I don't see anything driving the insurgency up and I certainly don't see it growing at this point. Could either one of those change? A political solution could absolutely change the dynamics," he said.

Vines said that while progress has been made in creating Iraqi security forces, they lack a military bureacracy capable of sustaining them. Developing one will take time, he said.

He noted, however, that the insurgency draws tacit, if not active, support from many Iraqis who oppose the US military presence. "And I think, ultimately, we want to come down as quickly as conditions permit," he said.

In Brussels, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said the withdrawal of some US forces in early 2006 would be understandable.

"The more our forces assume responsibility, the less role the multinational force will have in Iraq," he said.

"By then also the capacity of our military forces would be greater and better trained and equipped, and already on the ground there are many responsibilities that are being transferred gradually to the Iraqi forces."

All rights reserved. � 2004 Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.

Related Links
SpaceDaily
Search SpaceDaily
Subscribe To SpaceDaily Express

Commentary: Iraq: Vietnam Syndrome Strikes
Washington (UPI) June 20, 2005
Admittedly stretched very thin, the U.S. military has the courage, the stamina and the weapons to see the Iraq insurgency through, however long it takes. The body politic is another story.



Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only














The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2016 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service.