Free Republic

/begin my excerpts N. Korea: Kim Jong-eun issues the order to reduce NK troops by 300K First Secretary Kim Jong-eun issued the order to significantly reduce the troop strength of N. Korean military force, according to ANN's own investigation. Currently, N. Korea has 1.19 million troops of army, navy, and air force. This order calls for the reduction by 300,000 troops, the one fourth of total force. By Koji Ohno Drastic reduction of troops could mean that N. Korea completed the deployment of its nuclear weapons, and S. Korean authorities are wary (of such a possibility.) According to sources on...

Why doesn’t President Barack Obama just put us out of misery and run up the White flag in Afghanistan? Mr Obama might think it is jolly good politics to withdraw 33,ooo U.S. troops before next year’s presidential election but, whatever he says about the campaign moving in the right direction, there is little doubt he has dealt the mission’s prospects for success a mortal blow. Talk to any military commander on either side of the Atlantic – as I frequently do – and they will tell you that they need two full fighting seasons – this summer and next –...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 10, 2007 – Navy Adm. William J. Fallon, commander of U.S. Central Command, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff fully support Army Gen. David H. Petraeus’ proposal for reducing troops in Iraq to pre-surge levels by mid-July, Petraeus told Congress today. The recommendation, which President Bush must approve for it to be put into effect, would reduce the U.S. force in Iraq from 20 to 15 combat brigade teams next summer. Petraeus, commander of Multinational Force Iraq, told the House Armed Services and Foreign Affairs committees today that coalition and Iraqi forces have made significant security progress...

The commander of U.S. forces in Iraq said Wednesday that U.S. troop levels could be substantially reduced by early next year as a top Iraqi official said the U.S. could hand over security in 10 cities by December. "If the political process continues to go positively and if the development of the security forces continues to go on, I do believe that we will be able to make fairly substantial reductions after these (December) elections, in the spring," said General George Casey. He was speaking after talks with visiting U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, U.S. ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad and other...

The United States and Britain are drawing up plans to withdraw the majority of their troops from Iraq by the middle of next year, according to a secret memo written for British Prime Minister Tony Blair by Defense Secretary John Reid. The paper, which is marked "Secret -- UK Eyes Only," said "emerging U.S. plans assume that 14 out of 18 provinces could be handed over to Iraqi control by early 2006," allowing a reduction in overall U.S.-led forces in Iraq to 66,000 troops. The troop level is now about 160,000, including 138,000 U.S. troops, according to a military spokesperson...

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...

HEIDELBERG, Germany (AFP) - The United States is going to reduce the number of American ground soldiers stationed in Europe to 24,000 from the current 64,000 troops within the next five to 10 years, a US army spokeswoman said. The proposed troop reduction would result in only four of the 13 main operating bases remaining. The four bases would be; Wiesbaden in central Germany, which would become the European headquarters for US ground forces, and Kaiserslautern in western Germany, Grafenwoehr in southern Germany and Vicenza in northern Italy, according to the spokeswoman, Elke Herberger. The number of US army barracks...

Bush Admin Official Stresses Bilateral Discussions on USFK Issue WASHINGTON, D.C. -- A high-ranking official from the Bush administration said Saturday (local time) about the reduction in scale of U.S. forces in Korea (USFK) that, “No decision has been made yet. President Bush and President Roh will decide after discussions between the two governments.” The official, who wished to remain anonymous, said in a meeting with correspondents in Washington, D.C. that the U.S. would present a strategic concept of USFK at the 9th Future of the Alliance Talks (FOTA) instead of presenting any specific reduction scales. This official said that...