Thursday, March 26, 2009
Brigade Combat Team-3rd Infantry BCT, 25th Infantry Division
As previously reported in AllGov, there are loopholes in President Obama’s Iraq withdrawal plan that allow the United States to keep combat troops in Iraq long after the president promised he would. Now, Pentagon spokesmen have revealed some of the details.
The basic Army combat unit in Iraq is called a BCT (Brigade Combat Team). A typical BCT has two or three battalions of motorized infantry, as well as artillery and other support elements. These units will stay in Iraq, but they will be renamed “Advisory and Assistance Brigades” or “Brigades Enhanced for Stability Operations” (BESO). This name change will be justified by the addition to each BCT of extra troops who will advise and assist Iraqi troops.
The withdrawal agreement signed by the United States and Iraq on November 17, 2008, known as SOFA (US-Iraq Status of Forces Agreement), stipulates that U.S. combat forces will withdraw from populated areas in Iraq by June 2010. However, by changing the name of the units from Brigade Combat Teams to Brigades Enhanced for Stability and Operations, the Obama administration apparently hopes to skirt the intent of the withdrawal agreement.
-David Wallechinsky
Despite Obama’s Vow, Combat Brigades Will Stay in Iraq (by Gareth Porter, Inter Press Service)
The Iraq War is Over (Daily Show with Jon Stewart)
Key Iraq Training Units Still Being Developed (by Spencer Ackerman, Washington Independent)
U.S. Security Agreements in Iraq (by Greg Bruno, Council on Foreign Relations)
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