U.S. Army Spc. Edward Brodzinski provides security while other soldiers unearth a weapons cache in the rural region of Zoba, Iraq, on Oct. 4, 2008. Brodzinski and the soldiers are assigned to 1st Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division. The site is known to hold numerous hidden weapons caches. DoD photo by Spc. Daniel Herrera, U.S. Army. (Released)From The Houston Chronicle:
WASHINGTON — The U.S. military in Iraq is abandoning — deliberately and with little public notice — a centerpiece of the widely acclaimed strategy it adopted nearly two years ago to turn the tide against the insurgency. It is moving American troops farther from the people they are trying to protect.
Starting in early 2007, with Iraq on the brink of all-out civil war, the troops were pushed into the cities and villages as part of a change in strategy that included President Bush's decision to send more combat forces.
The bigger U.S. presence on the streets was credited by many with allowing the Americans and their Iraqi security partners to build trust among the populace, thus undermining the extremists' tactics of intimidation, reducing levels of violence and giving new hope to resolving the country's underlying political conflicts.
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My Comment: The first step in getting ready to leave.