Report: Bush Iraq exit plan calls for drawdown to 50-70,000 troops based away from cities, aided by carrier strike groups

Above: Fighter jets line the flight deck of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Nimitz on June 27.

Since April 2007, George W. Bush has had on his desk an exit plan from Iraq, built around the phased pull-back by early 2008 of a little more than half of the 170,000 or so troops there at present. Around 50-70,000 soldiers are to be redeployed to large strategic fortified enclaves in the south and the north as a semi-permanent US presence. They will be backed by four naval and aerial strike groups in the Persian Gulf and Red Sea and a chain of giant air bases, some expanded, others built from scratch, in Oman, Qatar and Jordan.

The military sources of DEBKAfile and DEBKA-Net-Weekly have been tracking the evolution of this White House master plan since April 27.

Building up in Persian Gulf waters as a key element of this post-withdrawal military plan are three American carriers and their strike groups. The USS Enterprise CVN 65 Big E Strike Group departed for the region Monday, July 8, to join the USS Stennis and USS Nimitz carriers which are already there.

Read the rest at Debka

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