Free Republic

LONDON (Reuters) - A leaked document from Britain's Defense Ministry says the British and U.S. governments are planning to reduce their troop levels in Iraq by more than half by mid-2006, the Mail on Sunday newspaper reported. The memo, reportedly written by Defense Minister John Reid, said Britain would reduce its troop numbers to 3,000 from 8,500 by the middle of next year. "We have a commitment to hand over to Iraqi control in Al Muthanna and Maysan provinces (two of the four provinces under British control in southern Iraq) in October 2005 and in the other two, Dhi Qar...

Former President Bill Clinton says setting deadline for a U.S. withdrawal from Iraq would aid terrorists trying to destroy a growing democracy. "They are dying beside us in the service of what they hope will be an independent country," said Clinton, speaking at the 2005 Aspen Ideas Festival on Friday night. "I wouldn't give it up yet. I'd stick in there and try to make it work. And I wouldn't set a deadline either. I think that's a mistake. If we set a deadline, (the terrorists) will believe all they have to do is wait. So unless you know you...

GLENEAGLES, Scotland -- Italy plans to begin withdrawing some of its troops from Iraq in September, Premier Silvio Berlusconi said Friday. Berlusconi, who was a strong supporter of President Bush on Iraq, sent 3,000 troops to the country after the ouster of Saddam Hussein to help rebuild the country. He had previously indicated he hoped a pullout could begin in September. "We will begin withdrawing 300 men in the month of September," Berlusconi said at the G-8 summit in Gleneagles, Scotland.......................

If George Bush did not flirt with withdrawal during last year's presidential campaign, when it looked as if Iraq might cost him his political career, he certainly will not do so as a second-term president. Americans know that. But the world may not. Particularly as it keeps hearing congressional voices calling for withdrawal, timetables and exit strategies. Hence the president's nationally televised address to the nation Tuesday on Iraq. One purpose, of course, was to state, once again, the case for the war. But the most important line was the restatement of his position on withdrawal before victory: "This will...

During hostilities in Vietnam, U.S. casualties were fewer than 10,000 at the end of 1967 and the beginning of 1968. From those days of the 1968 Tet offensive in Vietnam, to the close of hostilities in 1975, nearly 48,000 more American service personnel died. During that same post-Tet period, anti-war sentiment reached a fever pitch back in the United States. These statistics stand firm as a stark reminder of how a populace of an uninformed or misinformed nation can kill their own citizen soldiers, sailors, marines, and airmen. During this same post-Tet period, the senior North Vietnamese Commander, General Giap,...

By Leo Shane III Stars and Stripes Mideast edition WASHINGTON — Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld called any deadline for withdrawal from Iraq “a terrible mistake” that could undermine U.S. forces' progress against the insurgency. “It would throw a lifeline to terrorists, who in recent months have suffered significant losses in casualties,” he told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday. “The timing must be condition based, and will depend on the extent to which ethnic factions reconcile … and the level of support from the international community.” At the hearing, Senate Democrats had proposed using the threat of withdrawal...

Terrorist sympathizers in the Democrat Party are constantly prattling "EXIT STRATEGY" as if they have latched on to some clever argument. Next time you hear this phrase, ask the Leftist the following: What was our "EXIT STRATEGY" for the Revolutionary War? After all, it lasted 6 1/2 years and we took on the most powerful military in the world, which also hired Hessians to help them try to defeat us. NO? You mean there never WAS an "EXIT STRATEGY" for the Revolutionary War? All right then, how about the Civil War? What was the North's "EXIT STRATEGY"? Has that document...

President Bush assured Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari on Friday "there are not going to be any timetables" for withdrawal of American forces and vowed victory over insurgents attempting to prevent establishment of a democratic government under a new constitution. "This is not the time to fall back," al-Jaafari concurred at a joint news conference at the White House. Fielding questions hours after the latest attack on a U.S. military convoy left an unknown number of American troops dead, Bush conceded that it bothers Americans to see scenes of carnage on television. Speaking of the insurgents, he said, "There's no...

Lt. Gen. Vines: Iraq Drawdown Unlikely Before December June 22, 2005 By Lisa Burgess Stars and Stripes Mideast edition ARLINGTON, Va. — With the level of violence in Iraq expected to remain at current levels for at least the next four months, U.S. commanders are not planning to make any near-term reductions in the 135,000 U.S. troops in that country, a key U.S. commander in Iraq said Tuesday. “We're not at that point yet,” Army Lt. Gen. John R. Vines, commander of the Multinational Corps Iraq, told Pentagon reporters Tuesday. “We don't see the insurgency contracting or expanding right now,”...

By LIZ SIDOTI, Associated Press Writer 9 minutes ago Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld rejected calls by some lawmakers for the Bush administration to set a timetable for U.S. withdrawal from Iraq. "That would be a mistake," he told a Senate panel Thursday. "Timing in war is never predictable. There are never guarantees," Rumsfeld told the Senate Armed Services Committee. "Those who say we are losing this war are wrong. We are not." Congressional Democrats are demanding answers about the future presence of U.S. troops in Iraq. Rumsfeld, testifying on the progress in training Iraq's own security forces, said these...

S troops may start withdrawing from Iraq in March, a US general said, as the new US ambassador to the war-torn country pledged to help Iraqis crush a ruthless insurgency. As many as four or five brigades (up to 20,000 people) could leave if the country's ethnic groups agree on a constitution and elect a government that has broad support, Lieutenant General John Vines said in Washington via video link from Iraq. "I suspect we will probably draw down capability after the election, because Iraqi security forces are more capable," Vines said. He referred to planned elections at the end...

US commander predicts insurgency to dwindle rapidly once government elected with broad support. By Jim Mannion – WASHINGTON The US military will probably begin withdrawing some forces from Iraq by March, a top US commander said Tuesday, predicting the insurgency will dwindle rapidly if the country's Sunnis, Shia and Kurds can agree on a constitution and elect a government that has broad support. Lieutenant General John Vines, the number two US commander in Iraq, said any drawdown would depend on conditions on the ground. But he said as many as four or five US brigades probably would come out in...

Arguments for and against the U.S. troop presence in Iraq assume that having an "exit strategy" is a fundamental military principle. It isn't. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was right in April to say, "We don't have an exit strategy, we have a victory strategy." Yet with public support here waning and suicide attacks in Iraq persisting, the calls for an exit strategy are being heard not just in the news media, but also in the halls of Congress. As for rhetoric, "exit strategy" didn't appear in any major U.S. publication before 1980. That was seven years after American forces left...

Regarding the Surrender at any Cost Democrats and their Demands to Declare Defeat in the Face of Overwhelming Victory: Let’s stay until we finish the job. For the last few weeks the constant drumbeat among the chattering class has been for the United States to set an artificial timetable when we could bring our troops home. Beside being a terrible idea for Iraq. (Imagine our enemies planning sessions: “let’s just wait until _______, the withdrawal date, then completely destroy the fledgling democracy the Americans have wasted lives and treasure to create. "Mohammed, you look like you need a vacation, why...

WASHINGTON, June 15 - Celeste Zappala, whose son died in Iraq, visited Capitol Hill on Wednesday to demand "a very quick exit strategy." Her timing was perfect. With opinion polls showing a drop in support for the war, and a British memo asserting that the Bush administration had intended to go to war as early as the summer of 2002, the words "exit strategy" are being uttered by both Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill. The flurry began over the weekend, when Representative Walter B. Jones of North Carolina, a conservative Republican, called for the Bush administration to set specific...

White House officials acknowledged yesterday that the public's gloomy mood about the Iraq war is forcing President Bush to take a more assertive and public role to reassure nervous Americans and Republican lawmakers about the White House plan for victory. Bush had hoped the successful January elections in Iraq would boost the popularity of the conflict and allow him to distance himself from it. But his aides have concluded that recent events in Iraq have contributed to an erosion in support for the president -- and that he needs to shift strategies. Bush's new approach will be mostly rhetorical, however,...

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The White House rejected calls for setting a precise timetable for a US withdrawal from Iraq, even as a new poll showed almost six in 10 Americans want at least a partial pullout of US forces. ADVERTISEMENT "We will leave when we complete the mission," spokesman Scott McClellan said a day after a representative in US President George W. Bush's Republican party said he would push legislation fixing a firm schedule for such a withdrawal. "We are not going to stay a day longer than what is necessary. But what we're working to achieve in Iraq is...

The White House dismissed calls on Monday for setting a date to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq as a new poll showed a growing number of Americans believe the United States should pull its forces out. President Bush has repeatedly said that U.S. troops would leave Iraq once Iraqi forces were trained to take over the security of their country."The president's talked about how timetables send the wrong message," White House spokesman Scott McClellan said. "It would send the wrong message to the terrorists and it would send the wrong message to the Iraqi people. They have shown they're committed...

A Republican congressman who voted for the Iraq war said Sunday that "we've done about as much as we can do" in the country and that the reason for invading Iraq has proven false. Rep. Walter Jones of North Carolina will be among the lawmakers introducing legislation this week calling for a timetable for the withdrawal of American troops in Iraq. "When I look at the number of men and women who have been killed - it's almost 1,700 now, in addition to close to 12,000 have been severely wounded - and I just feel that the reason of going...

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- A Republican congressman who voted for the Iraq war said Sunday that "we've done about as much as we can do'' in the country and that the reason for invading Iraq has proven false. Rep. Walter Jones of North Carolina will be among the lawmakers introducing legislation this week calling for a timetable for the withdrawal of American troops in Iraq. "When I look at the number of men and women who have been killed -- it's almost 1,700 now, in addition to close to 12,000 have been severely wounded -- and I just feel that...