Rumor amongst troops in Iraq....October surprise....

[Bread and Circus]

My best friend is in the middle of his 1 year tour of duty
in Iraq and has told his wife a big rumor going around amongst
the troops is a massive "surprise" troop reduction in Iraq during October.

He's a fairly high level enlisted man working in a
non-combat unit over there.

Also, interestingly, he has been a Republican for as long as I
remember and right before being shipped last January he told me
he thought it was a good idea that we went in there. Now, his
wife tells me, that he is fed up with the situation and "hates
Bush". There is even a slim chance he might vote for Kerry as
well. This is a big leap for him.

Please pardon his previous political beliefs, he's a great guy.

[LibraLabSoldier]

1. These rumors....

have been going around for a while. Another good one is that we actually have OBL, and there is gonna be a big surprise "capture" in October as well. It would be nearly impossible logistically to have a "surprise" troop rotation home in October.

[dweller]

2. Peace with honor? n/t

[DemBones DemBones]

4. But NOT impossible logistically for them to

SAY they were going to bring home a large number of troops from Iraq. They might well have a "secret plan" for ending the American presence in Iraq. (For those too young to recall, that's a reference to Nixon's lie to win the election in 1968 against a Dem, Hubert Humphrey, viewed as tied to the war by the fact that he was LBJ's VP.)

[dweller]

5. "too young to recall" LOL

are you calling me old :) ?

:hi: DBDB.

dp

[DemBones DemBones]

13. If you remember "peace with honor," you must be

(ahem) formerly young. Like me.

:hi: dp!

[dweller]

16. i tell myself it's

Forever Young.

and believe it too.
dp

[Strelnikov_]

10. I Agree, This Sounds Like The 'Secret Plan' From 1968

The plus side is that if they are going the 'secret plan' route, they are probably not planning to stir up things with Iran until after the election if re-selected.

[TheDebbieDee]

9. Who says the troops would be rotating home???????????

Maybe the troops will be headed east of Baghdad...an invasion of Iran. That would be a big surprise for everybody.

[JM]

3. Troop pullout wouldn't surprise me.

Think about it. Bush a massive number of troops out, and if he wins election, he puts them back in. If he loses, Kerry would have to put troops back in, which means the next election challenger has political ammunition

JM

[LibraLabSoldier]

6. Even if he could.

Moving 100,000 troops and their equipment is a large undertaking. Just the very expense of taking out the troops and putting them back in is amazing.......Not to mention, we would have probably at least a few hundred who go AWOL in the mean time.....Its just not practical.

[BeFree]

11. Store the stuff and move the men

14 new bases are being built in Iraq. That's where they will park the equipment and fly the boys home in a couple of weeks, for a couple of weeks.
It's practical and doable.

But expect that * just says it in hopes he gets elected. Because really, with all those po'd troops back home bad-mouthing * it may become a negative.

[Jim__]

7. If he tried that, do you think people would finally recognize this guy

for the crock of shit that he really is? Do you think the press might finally wake up?

[MidwestTransplant]

8. Sistani told us to leave. We'll see if that has an impact

previously he has been pro US.

[Disturbed]

12. 14 new Military bases

Some people don't beleive this is being done. Has this ever been in the Mass Media?

al Sistani pro US? Please prove that assertion.

[kohodog]

14. There was news on this in the Spring.

But I don't know if NYT or any major media outlets picked up on it.

Here's one link:

http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2004/05/288657.shtml
snip

Iraqis also know that 14 US military bases are already under construction, enough to accommodate the (for the moment) 110,000 American soldiers who will stay in Iraq until at least 2007. No sovereign Iraqi government has approved the construction of these bases. Kimmitt - the No 2 Pentagon man in Iraq, and the one who launched total war on Fallujah - said the bases are "a blueprint for how we could operate in the Middle East". A ring of US military bases throughout what the Pentagon calls the Greater Middle East is a key element of the neo-conservative-driven strategy to control world energy resources as the way to control the destiny of America's economic rivals - the European Union and Northeast Asia

Google will find lots more, I'm sure.

[LibraLabSoldier]

15. We may build these bases

But where are the troops gonna come from to man them? We are stretched mighty thin right now as it is. We cant keep the reserves and NG on active status forever.....even with a draft it would be three years before we could get troop strength levels up that high. Besides, what is your definition of a base? A base the size of Fort Ben Harrison, or a base the size of Fort Hood, TX?

[Lerkfish]

20. what scares me is that the thinner our troops are spread...

... the closer we get to Bush arguing that "nuuuklar" weapons are necessary, because he's made conventional warfare too costly.

[alfredo]

18. I have requested a Status of Forces Agreement

between the US and Iraq. As soon as I get it, I will make it available to all.

[LibraLabSoldier]

17. One parting shot...

Rumors abound in the military. This is because those at the top treat those of us at the bottom like mushrooms.....


Keep us in the dark, and feed us SH*T

[B Calm]

19. Ask your friend if he likes this Back Door Draft

Bush has been using by sending the National Guard to police the world!

[AP]

21. I guarantee this will happen. IIRC, Nixon did something similar in '72.