Announcement of 2009 Iraq deployments excludes Hawaii
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Army brigades from Texas, New York and Pennsylvania, and two Marine units from North Carolina have been ordered to deploy to Iraq early next year, the Pentagon announced yesterday.
No Hawai'i troops are scheduled to deploy in the plan announced yesterday.
The units — which include about 33,000 troops — would replace forces already in Iraq, and allow the U.S. to maintain 15 combat brigades in the country through 2009 if needed.
The units are:
The deployment decisions could change depending on whether Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, decides in the fall to further reduce troop levels in Iraq.
If he decides that fewer brigades will be needed in Iraq during the next year, there is the chance that units could simply be directed to the war in Afghanistan instead. Military leaders have said they want to send more troops to Afghanistan because of the increase in violence there.
