Occupation Iraq: 140,000 Strong

Plus war-profiteering mercenaries, readers.

So it WON'T MATTER WHO the next president is, will it?

No wonder the MSM wastes so much time on the "elections."

"US announces 42,000 deployments"

"by Associated Press | May 20, 2008

WASHINGTON - The Pentagon announced yesterday upcoming deployments of more than 42,000 troops, including 25,000 active-duty Army soldiers who would be sent to Iraq beginning in the fall to replace troops scheduled to come home by year's end.

The deployments would maintain a level of 15 brigades in Iraq, or about 140,000 troops - the number military leaders expect will remain on the warfront at the end of July, once the currently planned withdrawals are finished.

Under the new Pentagon policy effective in August, those active-duty Army units will serve for 12 months, rather than the 15-month tours that units in Iraq now are serving. The bulk of the soldiers deploying later this year returned from Iraq late last year, and will have gotten about a year at home to rest and retrain.

As part of the announcement, the Pentagon alerted four National Guard Army brigades, or about 14,000 troops, to begin preparing for deployments to Iraq beginning next spring, and a National Guard Army brigade, with about 3,100 soldiers, to prepare to deploy to Afghanistan in spring 2010.

Deploy in 2010?!?! Isn't that a decision for the NEXT PRESIDENT?

Unless... ?

General David Petraeus, the top US commander in Iraq, said he wants 45 days to evaluate the security conditions in Iraq, after which he will begin to decide whether more troops can be pulled out.

And when the attack on Iran will be.

The plan leaves open the possibility that the United States could keep 15 brigades there through the end of the year - as voters go to the polls and elect a new president.

So what? We elected a Congress to get us out of there and you see what happened!

Besides, we'll in a Third World War shortly after -- or before!!!

Currently there are 155,000 troops, including 17 combat brigades, in Iraq.

The seven Army combat brigades and one division headquarters units that would be sent to Iraq later this year are:

25th Infantry Division Headquarters

Second Brigade, Fourth Infantry Division, from Fort Carson, Colo.

Third Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, from Schofield Barracks, Hawaii

Second Brigade, First Infantry Division, from Fort Riley, Kan.

Third Brigade, 82d Airborne Division, from Fort Bragg, N.C.

172d Infantry Brigade from Schweinfurt, Germany

Third Brigade, First Cavalry Division, from Fort Hood, Texas.

First Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, from Fort Wainwright, Alaska.

The four National Guard brigades being alerted for Iraq duty are:

72d Brigade Combat Team, Texas National Guard

Second Brigade Combat Team, 28th Infantry Division, Pennsylvania National Guard

256th Brigade Combat Team, Louisiana National Guard

278th Brigade Combat Team, Tennessee National Guard

The unit told to prepare for deployment to Afghanistan was the 86th Brigade Combat Team from the Vermont National Guard. There are currently 33,000 US troops in Afghanistan."