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US troops to withdraw from Iraq in 4 years
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld indicated Monday that he expected American troops to withdraw from Iraq within four years, but he cautioned that any final decision hinged on the progress that Iraq's civilian government and security forces made by then. Asked by reporters traveling with him whether United States forces would be out of Iraq by the end of his second four-year term, Mr. Rumsfeld said, "I would certainly expect that to be the case and hope that to be the case." He noted that President Bush had repeatedly said American forces would stay as long as needed in Iraq. But his answer offered intriguing clues to his thinking on two crucial subjects: the duration of the American military presence in Iraq and how long he will stay in his job.
If they're gonna be out in four years, that means they won't be needed there in four years (or we'll have decided by then it's a lost cause, I guess...)
The Defense Department announced last week that it would increase the number of American troops in Iraq to 150,000, from 138,000, by early next month, to help provide security for the Iraqi elections on Jan. 30 and to keep pressure on the insurgency. Pentagon officials said the increase was only temporary, through next March. But many American military officers and senior Iraqi ministry officials have forecast that the United States will have to keep a sizable troop presence in Iraq for years to come to battle a resilient and deadly insurgency and to help prevent the country from spiraling into civil war.

Mr. Bush asked Mr. Rumsfeld last week to stay on as defense secretary, a request Mr. Rumsfeld confirmed Monday that he "enthusiastically" accepted. But he said they had not discussed how long he would remain, and he declined to go into the subject. Speaking to reporters aboard his plane on Monday, Mr. Rumsfeld struck an unusually reflective tone and ticked off several points that suggested he would relish the opportunity to serve another four-year term. Ultimately, of course, that decision rests with Mr. Bush. He said he enjoyed working with Mr. Bush, whom he called "an excellent executive," was in good health, had no young children and was eager to tackle of series of continuing professional challenges, from revamping the military's overseas basing arrangements to overhauling the Pentagon's personnel system. He remained defiant in the face of critics who say the United States failed to send enough troops to Iraq initially to handle postwar security and, now, to combat the insurgents.
Posted by: Dan Darling 2004-12-07
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=50651