LOC23:43
20:43 GMT
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forces in Iraq, we plan to have them withdrawn from Iraq by that time."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withdrawn from Iraq by mid-December or so," adding "my belief is that the U.S.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have all of our forces withdrawn by 31 December, 2011."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)
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