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Majority of U.S. troops out of Iraq by mid-December -- general

WASHINGTON, Nov 3 (KUNA) -- A top U.S. military official affirmed here Thursday that the U.S. is executing a "deliberate plan" for the withdrawal of the U.S. troops from Iraq by December 31st 2011.
Deputy Commanding General for Support for U.S. Forces-Iraq, Major General Thomas Spoehr told reporters that his country was executing a deliberate plan designed to fulfill its requirement to safely and responsibly withdrawal from Iraq by December 31st, 2011.
"This plan is flexible enough to account for change, and so no plan should be so rigid that it could not account for adverse weather or enemy activity," he stressed.
He affirmed that "it's a methodical and measured plan that is designed to ensure that we have continuous force protection and stewardship." He said that he is "confident that using this plan, and with the great men and women of the armed forces and our support team, we will meet our commitment and withdraw from Iraq by December 31st, 2011." Spoehr noted that "as I look at the plan, I think it's clear to me that by the time we get to about mid-December or so, the vast majority of the U.S. forces in Iraq, we plan to have them withdrawn from Iraq by that time." He reiterated "I believe the vast majority of our forces will have withdrawn from Iraq by mid-December or so," adding "my belief is that the U.S. forces will easily meet their commitments under the security agreement and have all of our forces withdrawn by 31 December, 2011." (end) si.mt KUNA 032343 Nov 11NNNN