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U.S. "Delays" Iraqi Pullout
 The U.S. military has been ordered to delay plans for the start of a withdrawal from Iraq. Officials said the Defense Department has revised plans for the start of a withdrawal from Iraq by the end of 2005. They said the Pentagon and Joint Chiefs of Staff have concluded that Iraq's military and security forces would not be ready to take on major security responsibility in the Sunni Triangle for at least another year.Instead, the U.S. military was told that any major withdrawal would be suspended until at least mid-2006. Officials said a review of Iraqi military and security forces would be completed by the end of 2005. "So over the period ahead, we'll see some adjustments in numbers," Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said. "But I would be the last person to think I'm smart enough to know what that rate at which their competence and capabilities will proceed relative to the intensity of the insurgency, because one of the other things that affects the insurgency is the extent to which the Iraqi people are willing to provide intelligence and tip in favor of their government." Posted by: Fred 2005-04-01 |
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