U.S. To Reduce Afghan Troop Level
U.S. troop levels in Afghanistan will be reduced by about 3,500 next spring thanks to increased NATO forces and a growing Afghan army, the Defense Department said Tuesday.
The announced decrease, which foreshadows the first major reduction in U.S. troop strength in Afghanistan since late last year, signifies what is expected to be a gradual decline in troop levels that will also include reductions in U.S. forces in Iraq.
Defense officials said the 4th Brigade, 10th Mountain Division, based in Louisiana, will not go to Afghanistan next March as initially planned. Instead, one battalion-sized force will go to southern Afghanistan in mid-2006 to help in the transition of that region to NATO control. The rest of the 4th Brigade would be in reserve, ready to deploy if needed.
The reduction would bring U.S. troop levels in Afghanistan to about 16,500.
"It's a good thing, it's progress," Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld told a small group of reporters Tuesday.
Rumsfeld said the reduction in U.S. forces in Afghanistan will mean a slight drop in the amount of number of normal security operations, like road patrols. It will not reduce the U.S. capacity for conducting counterterror operations, most importantly the hunt for al Qaeda and Taliban fighters.
The deployment changes were described this month by Pentagon officials who spoke condition of anonymity because the plans were not completed.
Rumsfeld signed the deployment orders Monday. He said senior commanders, including Gen. John Abizaid, commander of U.S. Central Command, had recommended scaling back.
"We still will have a large number of forces in the country," Rumsfeld said.
The 4th Brigade would have replaced the 173rd Airborne Brigade, which is scheduled to leave Afghanistan next spring and return to its home base of Caserma Ederle in Vicenza, Italy.
A brigade usually numbers around 3,500 troops, and a battalion generally is about 800 troops.
U.S. troop levels in Afghanistan peaked at 20,300 in April 2004, dropped to about 16,500 by the end of last year, then increased to about 20,000 this year.
NATO has been gradually expanding across Afghanistan, assuming responsibility for security from the U.S.-led coalition.
The NATO-led force has about 12,000 soldiers from 36 nations and is responsible for security in Kabul as well as northern and western regions of the country. U.S.-led forces are in the east and south hunting Taliban and al Qaeda fighters.
Rumsfeld cited three main reasons for shrinking the U.S. force:
The Pentagon has refused to reveal details of any reduction of forces in Iraq. Defense officials have said they hope to reduce U.S. forces in Iraq, which peaked at about 160,000 this fall for Iraq's elections, to 138,000 by February and perhaps still lower afterward if conditions allow.
Defense officials have said the deployment of the 1st Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, based in Kansas, would be canceled.
Instead, portions of the brigade would be divided into 10- or 11-member military transition teams to be sent separately into Iraq to work with Iraqi security forces. The officials who described the plans asked not to be identified because the decision is not final.
Some other members of the brigade are expected to go to Iraq to do security duty, such as guarding high-profile targets.
Also, a large part of the 2nd Brigade, 1st Armored Division, which is currently in Kuwait and is usually based in Germany, would return to its home base. The rest would stay in Kuwait, prepared to respond to any emergency in Iraq, the officials said.