U.S. Military To Stay In Iraq Beyond 2011

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, left, walks with U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Kenneth W. Hunzeker, right, deputy commander of Multinational Force Iraq, after arriving in Baghdad, Dec. 10, 2009. DoD photo by U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Jerry Morrison

Gates Says US Air Force May Remain In Iraq Beyond 2011 -- Voice Of America

U.S. officials say they are on track to end the U.S. ground combat role and reduce from 120,000 troops to 50,000 by next October, and to have all U.S. troops out of Iraq by the end of 2011. But Secretary Gates said that might not include the U.S. Air Force.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates says the U.S. Air Force will likely continue to have a role in Iraq after all U.S. troops are currently scheduled to leave at the end of 2011, under a U.S.-Iraqi agreement signed last year. Gates spoke to U.S. troops at Forward Operating Base Warrior, near Kirkuk, northern Iraq.

Read more ....

My Comment: The Iraqi Air Force will take a decade (or more) before it can be a force to reckon with in the Middle East. In the interim .... the U.S. Air Force and its support units are going to stay put.

Grab The Post URL

URL: https://bloggernizer.blogspot.com/2009/12/us-military-to-stay-in-iraq-beyond-2011.html
HTML link code: <a href="https://bloggernizer.blogspot.com/2009/12/us-military-to-stay-in-iraq-beyond-2011.html">bloggernizer: U.S. Military To Stay In Iraq Beyond 2011 "clickable"</a>
BB (forum) link code: [url=https://bloggernizer.blogspot.com/2009/12/us-military-to-stay-in-iraq-beyond-2011.html]bloggernizer: U.S. Military To Stay In Iraq Beyond 2011 "clickable"[/url]