Posted on 08/15/2008 8:12:59 PM PDT by Jet Jaguar
Iraqi and U.S. troops will be taking over the Iraq checkpoints and patrol bases manned by Georgian troops before their hasty departure to deal with the conflict in their own country.
Some 2,000 Georgian troops — who made up the third-largest foreign military contingent in Iraq — were airlifted out of the country by U.S. military officials this week.
The Georgians had been called home to deal with the fighting with Russian forces sparked by the conflict over separatist regions.
On Friday, the U.S. military said members of the Iraqi security forces, along with U.S. troops from the 41st Fires Brigade, would "occupy the different checkpoints and patrol bases that the 1st Georgian Brigade manned before they redeployed home."
The Georgians had responsibility for an area of Iraq near the border with Iran.
U.S. officials said the Americans would work with the Iraqis on the various missions.
"Right now, the Iraqi soldiers have taken over the responsibility of the traffic control point," 2nd Lt. Charles Hines, of 2nd Battalion, 20th Field Artillery Regiment, was quoted as saying in a military statement. "But we are going to train them to be able to take over the entire patrol base, go and do presence patrols and set up temporary traffic control points in our area."
The Georgians’ departure could have a larger impact on the war in Iraq, according to reports Friday.
The Los Angeles Times, quoting an unnamed "senior military official," said the Georgian move could affect any future withdrawal of U.S. troops.
According to the Times, the U.S. withdrawal plans were "predicated on all partner nations keeping their troop levels intact."
The Times report, which could not be verified on deadline Friday, said the Georgian troops were "central to a new push to block weapons shipments coming across the border from Iran into southeastern Iraq, setting up a base in the city of Kut and patrolling nearby border regions."
Is there any chance that the departing Georgian soliders left Iraq with extra munitions and man portable type weapons?
Those Georgian troops are going back to their homeland and to a theater where they’ll not have any semblance of air superiority while facing an enemy vastly more equipped than themselves. I wish them all the best and hope we can apply enough pressure to help their situation.
Good point. Some parting ‘gifts’ would be most appropriate.
Maybe they ought to arrange for Iraqi troops to take over for the Russian “peace keeping” troops in Georgia.
Iraqi Troops! THAT was brilliant!
BTTT
On a different forum, a Georgian mentioned that the newly arrived “Iraqi” Georgians and local villagers put up the stiffest resistance.
I would hope that they were given parting gifts, and that they retain Command and Control of their unit and have fallen back by now to Tblisi or where needed most.
One would have to say they are the only Georgian unit that has seen combat/high intensity situations.
Looking at the map, we must have had to fly them home over Turkish airspace. Glad the Turks are still working with us.
I join many in thanking the Georgians for their service, as well as harboring no ill will for their justifiable reason to leave Iraq hastily.
Perhaps they’ll bag enough bears in Georgia to remind Putin why Russia bugged out of Afghanistan, too...
The Georgians are now double heroes for fighting against evil, vicious neo-Soviet Russian invaders & jihadist terrorist barbarians.
This is the first I’ve heard of the Georgian’s area of operations in Iraq....on the Iranian border.
2,000 of their troops? That's a fair number for such a small country considering how little some of our "allies" in Old Europe have supported us.
We have sunk billions of dollars into Germany and France yet the last I heard they refused to send any troops at all to Iraq to help us. Both countries have sent a small number to Afghanistan but only as trainers - they won't let them go any where near the fighting.
In retrospect, perhaps we should have closed down more operations in Germany and moved them to Georgia a few years ago. That would have made the Russians think a little more before they decided to invade.
It is a fair number, whose duties at the Iranian border were interrupted.
They have been in Iraq since early 2006. They had added company level over a period of time to a projected strength of some 2400 in 2007.
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