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De V.S. aan vertraging Irak verzamelen zich verminderingen
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De geplande vermindering van het aantal troepen van de V.S. in Irak moet worden opgeschort, de de defensiesecretaresse van de V.S., Robert vandaag vermeld Gates.
In het kader van een plan dat door Algemeen David Petraeus, de hoogste bevelhebber van de V.S. in Irak wordt opgesteld, was Washington van plan geweest om vijf van de 20 brigades in het land tegen Juli terug te trekken.
Meer onlangs, echter, verzocht Petraeus „periode van evaluatie“ om het effect van zulk een beweging te beoordelen - een voorstel dat nu door Poorten is gesteund.
“A brief period of consolidation and evaluation probably does make sense,” the defence secretary said, adding that the length of the evaluation was “one of the things we are still thinking about”.
His caution contrasted with remarks he made to troops in Baghdad yesterday.
“What a difference you made – al-Qaida routed, insurgents co-opted, levels of violence of all kinds dramatically reduced,” he told them.
“The situation in Iraq continues to remain fragile, but the Iraqi people now have an opportunity to forge a better, more secure, more prosperous future.”
Last year, the US president, George Bush, ordered five additional army brigades to Iraq as part of a “surge” in troop numbers.
One of those brigades left in December. The other four are due to withdraw by July, leaving 15 brigades – around 130,000 troops — the same number as pre surge levels.
Yesterday, Gates said Iraq’s political leaders faced hard choices about how to stabilise the country, but praised them for showing recent signs of progress towards reconciliation.
“They seem to have become energised over the last few weeks,” he added.
He said he would ask Iraqi politicians to assess the prospects for other measures including a law that would spell out power-sharing between the provinces and the national government.
Yesterday, insurgent attacks killed at least 50 people across northern Iraq.
Today, Reuters reported that two car bombs had exploded in southern Baghdad, killing at least two people and wounding five others.
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