Brain Fertilizer

Of course, it will be a while before they are all out.

I don't doubt this statement was timed to help bolster support and turn-out for the election coming up in Iraq.

In fact, the final levels of troops in Iraq by the end of the year might still be higher than they were this last January, since we've added enough that removing several thousand would still mean an overall increase...

However, any decrease is a good thing, and it represents a strong expectation that Iraqi police and security forces will have the capability to take over more and more security functions. I still think that despite the ambiguity of the statement, that the bulk of US troops will be out by Jan 2006, leaving advisors, trainers, a few Quick Reaction Forces, and maybe a unit or two of heavy armor and aircraft capable of Close Air Support.