Austin: No further Iraq withdrawals planned

[unhappycamper]

Austin: No further Iraq withdrawals planned
By Anne Gearan - The Associated Press
Posted : Monday Mar 9, 2009 17:59:15 EDT

WASHINGTON — The U.S. probably will not pull more forces from Iraq this year beyond those announced over the weekend, the No. 2 U.S. general in Iraq said Monday.

About 12,000 U.S. soldiers will leave Iraq by September, officials said Sunday.

“What we have right now is what we plan on having for the foreseeable future,” Lt. Gen. Lloyd Austin said in a video press conference from Baghdad.

“It will depend on whether security trends continue to improve or whether things begin to take a turn in the other direction, but I’m fairly confident that we’ll be able to maintain what we have,” Austin said.

Sunday’s withdrawal announcement came hours after a Baghdad suicide bomber killed about 30 people in a chilling reminder of the nation’s still-shaky security.


Rest of article at: http://armytimes.com/news/2009/03/ap_us_iraq_withdrawals_030909w/%2e