Only We Can Cut and Run!

[Doug]

LAST WEEK White House operative Karl Rove traveled to New Hampshire to pump up the faithful by telling them that if Democrats had their way, Iraq would have fallen to terrorists. ``When it gets tough, and when it gets difficult, they fall back on that party's old pattern of cutting and running," said Rove.

here

DOUG
I guess it's not cutting and running when Republicans do it!

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U.S. military confirms plan to reduce troops
Plans to pull 28,000 combat troops from Iraq may begin this summer

Jim Miklaszewski
Pentagon Correspondent

WASHINGTON - U.S. government officials confirmed on Saturday that the leader of U.S. forces in Iraq has submitted an early draft of a plan to withdraw roughly 28,000 combat troops by the end of 2007. But the officials emphasize that the plan is conditional on the security situation on the ground in Iraq.

The total number of forces that could possibly be withdrawn under U.S. Gen. George W. Casey’s plan would be larger than the 28,000 combat forces because as the number of combat troops is reduced, an undetermined number of support elements could also be withdrawn.

Read the rest here.

[Barbara Fitzpatrick]

Actually, that could be all the troops. By the end of WWII, there were 10 support troops for every combat troop. As you might tell by those numbers (10 x 28,000 = 280,000 or close to twice as many troops as we have over there), our guys have been seriously under-supported since they got there. And why the heck would you leave support troops in if you pull out the combat troops?

Of course, it's right if the Rs do it. I mean, Clinton was a "draft dodger" but Cheney had "other priorities" - and they've been attacking vets since 2000.

[Dardedar]

...the leader of U.S. forces in Iraq has submitted an early draft of a plan to withdraw roughly 28,000 combat troops by the end of 2007.

DAR
A promise (never mind a "draft of a plan") from an American politican or military leader, to do something "roughly" in a year in a half, isn't worth a handful of warm spit.

D.

[Barbara Fitzpatrick]

It's not even worth a bucket of warm spit - but my point was that, without saying they are drafting plans to pull out of Iraq by the end of 2007, they may be doing just that. Of the 140K or so troops we have in Iraq, if there are 28K in combat troops, that's got to be all of our combat troops (and that still leaves them way under supported - by WWII standards a total of 140K troops should be just under 13K combat troops and just over 127K support troops - Heck, there was a higher ratio of support to line troops in the War Between the States than what we have in Iraq right now, if we have 28K in combat troops).