Petraeus plan would ‘thin’ troops (rather than hand off security to Iraqi's)

[maddezmom]

Petraeus plan would ‘thin’ troops

Opponents voice worry about ‘reversible’ progress
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Sunday Apr 13, 2008 9:33:52 EDT

The top commander in Iraq hopes to recommend as early as this fall plans to reduce the number of U.S. troops below 120,000.

Army Gen. David Petraeus told Military Times editors and reporters that his overall plan is to “thin” the number of troops without necessarily reducing the number of places they are located as part of a steady move toward making Iraq forces take charge of their own security.

The number of U.S. forces in Iraq is expected to fall to about 120,000 at the end of July, with the full return of the 30,000 troops who were rushed to the war zone in early 2007 to quell a spike in insurgent violence. That will begin a 45-day period for evaluation, in which Petraeus and his staff will look for plans to further trim troops.

While not providing specifics, Petraeus said he already has in mind four or five places where troop reductions might be recommended. “We are fairly riveted to some of these locations,” he said.

“The concept is to thin our forces out rather than to hand off,” he said during the April 11 meeting at the Pentagon.



more:http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/04/military_petraeus_newmain_041108w/