Gates, Mixon: Withdrawal logistics could take years

Above: A soldier with the 2nd Infantry Division provides security while his team investigates a possible insurgent mortar launch site at an amusement park in Baghdad's Rusafa District July 9.

WASHINGTON - Pulling the U.S. military out of Iraq would be a massive undertaking and would have to be done slowly and deliberately, defense officials said Friday. One general said it would take up to 18 months to cut his troop levels in northern Iraq in half...

Noting that it took a year to bring U.S. troops out of Kuwait in the early 1990s, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said that was under good conditions where there was a "permissive environment" and easy access to ports and airports to move troops and equipment.

"You're talking about not just U.S. soldiers, but millions of tons of contractor equipment that belongs to the United States government, and a variety of other things," Gates told Pentagon reporters. "This is a massive logistical undertaking whenever it takes place"...

The difficulty in getting out of Iraq was highlighted Friday by Maj. Gen. Benjamin R. Mixon, the top U.S. commander in northern Iraq. Speaking to Pentagon reporters via video from his post, Mixon said he has between five and six brigades under his command, and it would take up to 18 months to cut that number in half. A brigade is about 3,500 troops.

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