U.S. To Speed Up Troop Removals In Iraq

(CBS/AP)  Spurred on by a continued decline in violence, the U.S. military will reduce its presence in Iraq to 14 combat brigades this month - at least two months earlier than originally planned.

Military officials say two brigades from the 101st Airborne Division will leave Iraq this month and only one will be replaced. A brigade is roughly 3,500 soldiers. Initially the 3rd Brigade, 101st Division, was scheduled to leave this month, and the 2nd Brigade, 101st Division, was to leave by February.

On Wednesday, however, the military announced the 2nd Brigade will instead return to its Fort Campbell, Ky., home base this month, after serving for 13 months, rather than the expected 15.

The unit served in northwest Baghdad, where violence has plunged, including a 50 percent decline in overall attacks in the area and a more than 90 percent drop in murders.

That will still leave more than 145,000 troops in Iraq, so it's only a down payment on meeting President-elect Barack Obama's goal of getting all combat brigades out of the country by the end of 2010, reports CBS News security correspondent David Martin.

The U.S. has to get down to just eight brigades in Iraq if it wants to build up its forces in Afghanistan, which Obama has said he will do, and at the same time give troops more time at home, reports Martin.

U.S. forces have also seen a dramatic decline in troop fatalities, with deaths falling to their second lowest monthly level in October. There were 14 U.S. troops killed last month, including seven lost in combat. That total was one more than the 13 deaths in July - the lowest monthly level of the war.

President Bush announced in September that the military would go from 15 to 14 combat brigade in Iraq some time in January - following recommendations from Gen. David Petraeus, then his top Iraq commander.

The decision sparked sharp criticism from Congress members who wanted Petraeus to recommend a swifter and larger drawdown in Iraq. And the plan appeared to push decisions for any more aggressive troop cutbacks to the next administration.

They complained that it made it more difficult to divert additional forces to Afghanistan, where commanders have repeatedly asked for thousands more troops.

At the time, however, Defense Secretary Robert Gates urged a cautious approach in Iraq, saying commanders did not yet believe the security gains were "enduring," and that there was the potential for reversals in the future.

More recently, however, Gates and other officials have talked more insistently about the need to boost troop levels in Afghanistan, noting that the increase cannot take place until more forces come home from Iraq.

Despite the overall drop in violence, nine Iraqis died in three separate bomb attacks that also injured two American soldiers.

Iraqi police reported a suicide bomber rammed his car into a police patrol on the road to Baghdad's airport Wednesday, killing six people and wounding 12 others.

Police said three officers were among those killed in the attack, while four policemen were wounded.

The heavily secured highway leading from central Baghdad to the capital's airport was once among the most dangerous stretches in Iraq. Insurgents staged almost daily attacks with roadside bombs and machine guns on U.S military convoys and civilian vehicles traveling to and from downtown Baghdad.

But security has improved markedly on the highway in the past 18 months since authorities blocked off side streets feeding onto the road put up blast walls along the highway.

Also Wednesday, two U.S. soldiers were wounded in a roadside bomb attack near the town of Karmah west of Baghdad as they responded to reports of a bomb in the area, the U.S. military said. Two Iraqis were killed, while an Iraqi interpreter, two Iraqi Army soldiers and 11 civilians were wounded in the bombing.

An Iraqi security official said the U.S. troops were injured as they rushed to the site of an earlier roadside bomb attack that killed a prominent leader of the local Awakening Council, the term for mostly Sunni groups that have joined forces with the Americans against al Qaeda in Iraq.

Elsewhere, one policeman died and three more were wounded when their patrol hit a roadside bomb in Amarah, 200 miles southeast of Baghdad, police said.

Wednesday's violence follows a series of bombings in Baghdad this week that have killed more than 30 people, and underscores that insurgents still pose a threat.

Meanwhile, the U.S. military said an American soldier died of non-combat related causes.

It was the first death reported since Oct. 29 among the 151,000-strong American military force in Iraq, and brought to at least 4,191 the number of U.S. military members who have died in the Iraq war since it began in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.

U.S. officials say attacks in the Iraqi capital are averaging about four a day - down nearly 90 percent from levels of late 2006, when Shiite-Sunni fighting was at its high point and just before the U.S. troop surge that helped bring down violence in the capital. But U.S. commanders warn the security gains are reversible.

[rangerdahl]

Say what you want about the surge, the Shia JAM elements not fighting, and the Sunnis reconciling, etc. Also, blab on about how the war was not justified and all the rest. This is my third time here and I have seen a huge difference each time. Maybe we didn''t find MWDs or evidence of links to Al Quada, etc. Taking out a dictator who gassed ans shot his own people, enslaved others, and had many tortured while skimming off the large majority of money in his country while others suffered is never a bad thing for Americans to do. I have seen Iraqis vote, kids go to school where they couldn''t before, and seen first hand what good medical care from a Military Doc can do for a child burned or disfigured from an accident. It has been a noble effort in Iraq and most of us resent being coddled by those that want us out--we are adults, we made a decision to bvoluneer, and we lve with our choice to wear a uniform. We do not like to be coddled and felt sorry for. Sure, 4,000 gave their lives but they did it for a noble cause despite the reason we came in here. Lastly, the drawdon of forces began long before the election and has nothing to do with Obama winning.

[tincup356]

yes George you stayed the course all right...right to bankruptcy for America,To see what Obamas spine is made of ,,,see if he brings bush and cronies up on war crimes charges or turns him over to any world tribunals?

[impeach__w]

Credibility2 yes do it despite the consequences. We were not supposed to be there- so, any consequences of our presence are a direct result of Bush, Cheney, and Rummy. Bring the troops home Now.

Iran will be attacked at the end of the month by Isreal and with our approval and support.

[credibility2]

Yes, let''s escalate the troop withdrawal, regardless of the consequences, despite the fact that the surge has worked. Besides, whatever monies are saved, they can be re-distributed, I mean re-appropriated to create or expand social programs to help all of those who are government-reliant, instead of self-reliant. I do hope Obama will recover a lot of our money from the Iraqi government since they had plenty in their bank and was supposed to be using their own funds for certain things, versus continuing to expect the US to pay the way for them.

[tincup356]

Add up what this war has cost and you will see where our money went , there and in the pockets of Exxon/Mobil, defense contractors, The Carlyle group.And Washington can''t tell us what happened? Bushshit.

[presjfk]

More proof that the surge was the right thing to do.
Much of the credit belongs to President Bush for making the tough decision to stand by the surge plan.
Now, all that remains is for Obama and the Democrats NOT to fumble the ball on the troop drawdown by taking them out before conditions warrent it. Keeping troops in Iraq is bound to upset the Liberals, so we''''ll see what Obama''''s spine is made of, and how much grey matter he really has upstairs...Posted by CBSisPravda"

Sure, give Bush the credit for the surge. But also give him the blame for manipulating and lying about the facts to start the war, the death of 4000 servicemen, the loss of $1 trill of taxpayers money, the rise in oil prices, the destruction of our economy and so much more...but lastly let me say that you can also give Bush credit for the destruction of the GOP. Enjoy your celebration for the success of the surge in Iraq. As you celebrate most Americans will see the war as a tragedy, and as a war that will have no victory even in the best of circumstances.

[tincup356]

It''s about time , lets turn off the money to Iraq spigot , we could use that money much more wisely, like paying for the war crime tribunals that G.W. is going to be the guest of honor at...his own trial.

[easeup-2009]

No. The surge was never the driving force. It was the Sunnis who decided that being paid by the US military would be better than fighting against them. At the same time, al-Sadr called off the his insurgents and essentially stopped the fighting. It was calming down BEFORE the surge even began.

You really need to look at the timeline of events to get the correct pespective instead listening to political rhetoric.

Posted by mitch6544 at 01:28 PM : Nov 06, 2008

uhhh....OK. How about: It''''s kind of funny how Iraq was rarely brought up by Obama during the election. Could it be because paying the "Sons of Iraq" worked and we are pretty much done in Iraq?

How''s that?

[rational_1]

You know if McCain had stuck to his true nature...he may have fared much better!
A lesson to us all, to thine own self be true, otherwise you''''ll get sc.rewed
Posted by ozilott at 12:31 PM : Nov 06, 2008

You''re right - McCain lost because in the end many voters had no idea who he really was and who they were voting for. A maverick who buys wholeheartedly into the giant socialist bailout of the banks? I guess it makes him a maverick conservative since he''s bucking the most basic instincts of those folks (and who should be supporting him over his lefty rival). Yup, McCain blew it in many ways. If he''d been smart he would have opposed this bailout and challenged Bernanke and Paulson on their assertions about how absolutely necessary it was. Those two dopes were telling us everything was fine just a few months earlier and then all of a sudden the sky is falling. If McCain had stood up to them he might have won this election. Instead he ended up an incomprehensible mess of contradictions.

[mitch5511]

It''''s kind of funny how Iraq was rarely brought up by Obama during the election. Could it be because the surge worked and we are pretty much done in Iraq?
Posted by easeup at 01:11 PM : Nov 06, 2008

No. The surge was never the driving force. It was the Sunnis who decided that being paid by the US military would be better than fighting against them. At the same time, al-Sadr called off the his insurgents and essentially stopped the fighting. It was calming down BEFORE the surge even began.

You really need to look at the timeline of events to get the correct pespective instead listening to political rhetoric.