Democrats Call For… Increased Troop Levels in Iraq?

Do Democrats in Congress realize that consistent with the plans of General Petraeus and the Pentagon, the United States has begun to draw down our troops levels in Iraq?

The U.S. military is sending 3,000 soldiers home from Diyala province, the second large unit to leave Iraq as troop levels are cut after a 30,000-strong “surge”. Soldiers from the 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, will not be replaced by a new unit when they leave the ethnically and religiously mixed province north of Baghdad by January, U.S. military officials said. Instead, troops from the larger 4th Striker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, located near Baghdad, will take over the area, said Major Peggy Kageleiry, spokeswoman for U.S. forces in northern Iraq. “Most of the (brigade) will be home by Christmas and indeed a few people have left,” Kageleiry said on Tuesday.

This move makes plain that the administration has done what the Democrats have been demanding for months: change course. The United States has begun to implement a policy of sending U.S forces home as areas of Iraq are judged to be stable and secure. As Republican elected officials respond to Democratic calls for a ‘change in course,’ they should make clear that the drawdown the Democrats cried for has begun–the only sticking point is that we waited until our troops completed their mission. Now, when Democrats call for a ‘new course’ it can only mean departing before stability is achieved, at the risk of genocide and civil war. On a related note, Harry Reid has not noticed that the rationale for his obstruction is gone:

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Tuesday that Democrats won’t approve more money for the Iraq war this year unless President Bush agrees to begin bringing troops home.

Perhaps someone on Senator Reid’s staff can show him this post? It might save him some embarrassment.

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