By Greg Grant ggrant@govexec.com
February 14, 2008
Any decision by the Bush administration to halt reductions in American troop strength in Iraq this summer should await input from the Joint Chiefs of Staff on other global risks and the stress on the military caused by constant deployments, the Marine Corps commandant said Thursday.
Gen. James T. Conway spoke at a Government Executive Leadership Breakfast in Washington.
Referring to news reports that Defense Secretary Robert Gates advocates halting troop reductions this summer once the extra surge units have returned home, Conway warned of the strain this placed on Marines to maintain force levels in Iraq and the inability to train for other missions. It will only get worse with the deployment of about 3,500 Marines to Afghanistan this spring, he said.
http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0208/021408g1.htm
