A panel of retired senior military and police officers recommended Thursday that the United States lighten its footprint in Iraq to counter the image that it's an "occupying force."
The panel said significantly reducing the number of U.S. troops and allowing Iraqi forces to take over more daily combat missions by early next year would be "possible and prudent."
"The force footprint should be adjusted in our view to represent an expeditionary capability and to combat a permanent-force image of today's presence," said retired Marine Corps Gen. James Jones, who led the 20-member commission.
"This will make an eventual departure much easier," Jones told the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Jones' report, released Thursday, concluded that Iraqi security forces would be unable to take control of their country in the next 18 months. If Iraqi troops were to be given more of a lead, as envisioned by the panel, it is still expected U.S. troops would still play a substantial role by providing logistics and other support, as well as continued training ...
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