[Dean's World] Dave Price: MIssion Accomplished, Troops Preparing To Come Home?

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Posted by Dave Price:
MIssion Accomplished, Troops Preparing To Come Home?
http://www.deanesmay.com/posts/1150916301.shtml


   Kinda looks that way:

     [1]BALAD, Iraq - The U.S. military has begun sending thousands of
     battered Humvees and other war-torn equipment home as more Iraqi
     units join the fight against insurgents and American units
     scheduled for Iraq duty have their orders canceled.
     The military said the shipments will result in a reduction in the
     amount of U.S. equipment in Iraq, a cut made possible because the
     area patrolled by American troops is shrinking. The move also
     anticipates that the number of American troops in Iraq will
     decline.
     "This is all a byproduct of Iraqi forces accepting battle space and
     U.S. forces being displaced, which has allowed our government to
     decide not to send more forces," said Col. Jack O'Connor, commander
     of the U.S. Army Materiel Command's sustainment brigade in Iraq.
     In one such move Monday, the U.S. Army's 1st Brigade Combat Team,
     4th Infantry Division, based in Fort Hood, Texas, transferred
     responsibility for more than 235 square miles just north of Baghdad
     to the Iraqi Army's 9th Division.
     ...
     But analysts say that removing so much equipment now suggests
     commanders are laying the groundwork for an extensive reduction.
     "It is much harder to move equipment than it is to move people,"
     said Loren Thompson of the Lexington Institute. "So if the Army is
     increasing its movement of equipment out of the country, that may
     signal that it expects fewer soldiers in Iraq six or 12 months from
     now."

   One might even get the impression we've mostly accomplished our goals
   and are getting ready to go home, or something.
   But wait! Every silver cloud has a dark lining:

     Getting equipment home after more than three years in Iraq is among
     the military's most cumbersome tasks ahead, O'Connor said.

   Just a guess, but I'm to go out on a limb and say it's less cumbersome
   than occupying Iraq.

References

   1. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060621/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_war_equipment_1;_ylt=Ar1cytPkRN12HsCHJ2GwdloUewgF;_ylu=X3oDMTA2ZGZwam4yBHNlYwNmYw--