Reply #20: Rumsfeld, in Iraq, announces troop reduction (Rummy's announcement!)

[Divine Discontent]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10573155/
Deployment of 2 Army brigades canceled, further drawdowns likely in 2006


4:05 a.m. ET Dec. 23, 2005
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Just days after Iraq’s elections, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld on Friday announced the first of what is likely to be a series of U.S. combat troop drawdowns in Iraq in 2006.

Rumsfeld, addressing U.S. troops at this former insurgent stronghold, said President Bush has authorized new cuts below the 138,000 level that has prevailed for most of this year.

Rumsfeld did not reveal the exact size of the troop cut, but Pentagon officials have said it could be as much as 7,000 combat troops. The Pentagon has not announced a timetable for troop reductions, but indications are that the force could be cut significantly by the end of 2006.

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