Vol. 75/No. 36      October 10, 2011

According to the U.S. Army press office, as of September 13 there were 85,000 U.S. troops in Iraq and Kuwait. The office did not provide a clear breakdown between the two. The Associated Press cites 46,000 U.S. troops in Iraq.

In August, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told Stars and Stripes that the Iraqi government had said it wanted to negotiate a new troop forces agreement. But with just a few months to go before the current agreement between the two governments expires, no deal has been reached.

Meanwhile, Washington’s embassy in Baghdad is the world’s largest. With 619 apartments, restaurants, indoor and outdoor basketball courts, and an indoor Olympic-size swimming pool, the 21-building complex is similar in size to Vatican City.

Washington plans to have some 20,000 personnel at the two embassy branches, two consulates, and three police training centers, as well as 5,500 private security officers.

The White House had proposed keeping as many as 10,000 troops in Iraq, below the 14,000 to 18,000 recommended by Gen. Lloyd Austin, commander of U.S. forces there. Fox News and the New York Times reported September 6 that Panetta is now recommending just 3,000 to 4,000 U.S. troops remain. The Times said the reduction underscores “the delicacy of the question at home and in Iraq.”

The Obama administration is looking at basing troops in neighboring Kuwait that would rotate in and out of Iraq, skirting any troop limit negotiated with Baghdad.

The U.S. military also has many other forces in the region, including 30,000 Navy troops and 30 warships in its Fifth Fleet, based in Bahrain.
 
 
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