DRAWDOWN INEVITABLE

I have written before (here and here) that we will have to reduce the ground forces in Iraq before they are broken. The Sunday Times (London) of 4/16/06 had this report that confirms those posts:

There are 140,000 US troops in Iraq. Lieutenant-General John Vines, who stepped down as commander of ground forces in Iraq at the beginning of this year, said it was essential to reduce the numbers.

"There is an incredible amount of stress and I'm worried about it," said Vines. He added that soldiers were on their third or fourth tours of duty in Iraq: "The war has been going on nearly as long as the second world war and we're asking a lot of the forces."