**Reduction**?? (of U.S. troops in Iraq)

To “reduce” means to cut back or diminish.

So when I heard through the grapevine yesterday that it had been reported that Bush ok’d the reduction of U.S. troops in Iraq, I immediately thought that meant that soldiers would be coming home.

Well, sort of….not.

Today’s Deseret News published an Associated Press article on Bush ok-ing the troop cuts:

The United States soon will trim its military force in Iraq to slightly below 138,000 troops, the level it has considered its core force this year, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and other U.S. officials hinted Thursday.
The cuts, probably in the 5,000 to 7,000 range, would be achieved by canceling the planned deployment to Iraq of two Army brigades and could be announced as early as today, officials said.
….The reductions discussed Thursday would come in addition to Rumsfeld’s previous announcement that about 20,000 troops are to return home after bolstering security during Iraq’s fall elections.

O.k., so “reduce” in this realm doesn’t actually mean cut back on the number of troops that have been deployed in Iraq for some time. In this context it actually means bringing home the temporary security forces and cancelling the deployment of those waiting in the wings.

Is that really a reduction??? Further, the U.S. will stillhave 138,000 troops staying there.

Quoting the article on an interview with Donald Rumsfeld:
“Some folks who look at what’s taking place in Iraq say we should withdraw, that it (victory) can’t be done, that we’re losing,” he said, his voice evidently cracking with emotion.
“It is being won and we are winning it,” Rumsfeld said. “The worst thing in the world we could do is withdraw precipitously” because Iraq would then become a haven for terrorists bent on attacking moderate Muslim governments in the Middle East and going after the United States.
“Well, we’re not going to withdraw precipitously. We’re going to finish the important work that’s being done there,” he said.

So it looks like some PR efforts are being made to get the public convinced that these “reductions” are a good thing. But if you examine it carefully, you will see that no changes are being made at all…..really.