'How Long And How Many?'

Hugh Hewitt writes a column on Townhall.com with the first concrete numbers I've seen on how many troops will remain in Iraq, and for how long. Based on interviews with high-level analysts who have all recently been to Iraq and discussed these questions with Petraeus and other military leaders, here are the answers:

"The strain on U.S. forces, especially the army, is great. Nevertheless, the current force level can be maintained through at least the spring of next year. Thereafter, we could begin to draw down troops at the rate of one brigade a month until August, when we would be down to a pre-surge force of 15 Brigade Combat Teams or about 140,000 troops. This, assuming we stick with the current schedule of 15-month tours of duty, could then be maintained through 2009, with adjustments up or down at the recommendation of General Petraeus."

Don't believe the hype about how our forces are running low or how it's not possible to maintain our presence in Iraq for the long-term. The people who know don't buy it, so neither should you.

There's my two cents.