November 2, 2005
IRAQIFICATION PROCEEDS APACE:
U.S. Division Vacates Compound In Heart of Hussein's Home Turf (Jonathan Finer, November 2, 2005, Washington Post)
Under a cloudless autumn sky in the heart of Saddam Hussein's home region, commanders of the U.S. Army's 42nd Infantry Division withdrew Tuesday from a sprawling 18-palace compound that has been a U.S. base since 2003. [...]Posted by Orrin Judd at November 2, 2005 8:27 AMKnown to the Americans as Forward Operating Base Danger, it will be formally turned over to the provincial government on Nov. 22 after three weeks of logistical preparations, said Maj. Gen. Joseph J. Taluto, commander of the 42nd Infantry, which is leaving Iraq this month. For now, an American artillery battalion is all that remains.
"Soon this place that was once for only an elite few will be a place for the Iraqi people," Taluto told a crowd of Iraqi politicians, tribal leaders and fellow generals gathered for a ceremony transferring control of the region north of Baghdad to the Army's 101st Airborne Division, which recently arrived for its second tour in Iraq and will be headquartered at a U.S. base a few miles outside Tikrit.
"Instead of representing how one man used Iraq's wealth, it will represent how Iraq's wealth can be used for its people," Taluto said.
Precurser to a pullout?
Posted by: AWW at November 2, 2005 8:51 AMStop with the pullout. This is not an all or nothing matter. If we "pulled out" our ground maneuver elements from Korea someday, we would still have all kinds of combined arms, logistical and higher echelon elements in place, as well as such ground forces as might be necessary to provide security for them.
Posted by: Lou Gots at November 2, 2005 9:57 AMYes, it's just a term.
Posted by: oj at November 2, 2005 10:04 AMLou - I used the wrong term. I meant that this was possibly the beginning of US troop reductions in Iraq reflecting the improvement of the Iraq forces. I forgot the negative connotations the term pullout generates.
Posted by: AWW at November 2, 2005 10:18 AMthe plan all along was for a draw down of troops. think the iraqi government wants to go it alone with iran nuking up ? the only pull out in iraq was/is saddam from his hidey hole.
Posted by: Gen. Patton at November 2, 2005 1:00 PMThe total number of US forces is going up (to 157,000 IIRC) in anticipation of the Dec 15 elections.
Posted by: Gideon at November 2, 2005 5:38 PM