Update: American troop levels

A return to the treatment they deserve

In an effort to relieve the strain on the active-duty Army troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, President Bush announced the restoration of active-duty Army tours from fifteen to their original length of twelve months (Defense Secretary Robert Gates extended deployments last April). He also commanded military leaders to halt troop withdrawals scheduled to begin after July for a 45-day period on the advice of Multinational Force-Iraq commander General David Petraeus; Petraeus made the same recommendations public in Congressional hearings two days ago.  Bush’s announcement guarantees that 100,000 or more troops will be stationed in Iraq when the next president takes office next January. More than 4,000 troops have died in the conflict to date.

Bush to announce shorter Army tours – [MSNBC]

Advertisements