Number of US troops in Iraq at lowest level since 2003 invasion, military says
By APTuesday, February 16, 2010
US troops at lowest level since Iraq invasion
BAGHDAD — The American military says the number of boots on the ground in Iraq has dropped below 100,000 for the first time since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.
Army 1st Lt. Elizabeth Feste told The Associated Press that as of Tuesday there are 98,000 troops in Iraq.
That’s a significant drop from the roughly 140,000 troops in the month after the invasion, and a decline of about 70,000 since the height of the 2007 surge in which tens of thousands were deployed to fight the insurgency.
The declining number of troops signals the U.S. is sticking by its plan to steadily reduce its number of combat troops in Iraq to 50,000 by the end of August.
The U.S. military will pull out of the country completely by the end of 2011.
