The Troops Aren’t Coming Home, By Aaron Glantz

Monday, March 30, 2009.


It may seem counter-intuitive but by September of this year dovish Democrat Barack Obama will have actually sent more troops into combat than his hawkish predecessor George W. Bush.

How can this be?

After all, Barack Obama announced this month a phased withdrawal of all combat troops from Iraq by August 2010. (After the drawdown, a large force of as many as 50,000 troops — about one-third of what is there now — will remain with a new, noncombat mission: train Iraqis, protect U.S. assets and personnel and conduct anti-terror operations.)

But the time-line of the drawdown is back-loaded with the first US troops not scheduled to come home until this September – and even then our force in Iraq will only be reduced by 12,000.

At that point, approximately 135,000 US troops will still occupy the country. That’s the same number that invaded Iraq back in March 2003.

At the same time, Obama announced Friday he’s sending 21,000 more troops to Afghanistan and Pakistan – 17,000 combat troops plus another 4,000 to train Afghan forces and advise the Afghan government.

What this means is that under President Barack Obama the Global War on Terror is not winding down as many people expected. It is escalating.

We should all be ready for the human and economic consequences.

Aaron Glantz is a National Examiner.