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Study urges swift US withdrawal from Iraq
troops can be withdrawn safely from Iraq in roughly one year and the Bush administration should begin planning the pullout immediately, according to a study released Wednesday.
"If the United States does not set a specific timetable, our military forces and our overall national security will remain hostage to events on the ground in Iraq,`` says the study by the Center for American Progress, headed by John D. Podesta, a former chief of staff to former president Clinton.
Even worse, an all-out civil war could compel a withdrawal of the US troops, now numbering about 160,000, in three months` time, which would force leaving valuable equipment behind and preventing control of an orderly exodus, it says.
With the exception mostly of two brigades of about 8,000 troops who would remain in the touchy Kurdish region in the north for a year to guard against conflict with Turkey, the US troops would be moved to Kuwait initially, the study suggests.
Meanwhile, the withdrawal would give the United States leeway to add 20,000 troops to the 25,000 in Afghanistan trying to counter Taliban and al-Qaeda forces.
Lawrence Korb, one of the authors of the report and a former Pentagon official who specialized in manpower and logistics, said in an interview, "It is essential that the military begin planning for a phased withdrawal from Iraq now so it can be safely completed within 10 to 12 months.``
The center`s recommendation for withdrawal over a period of 10 to 12 months is based on consultation with military planners and logistics experts, the report said.
The time for half-measures and experiments is over; it is now time for a logistically sound strategic redeployment, it concluded.
source : AP