SmallGovTimes.comUS withdraws 3,500 troops amid surge in Iraq violence By: News Bites | Published on 05/06/08 A pullout of 3,500 US troops from Iraq was underway on Tuesday, the military said as Baghdad and Tehran kept up diplomatic moves to halt the escalating deadly street battles with Shiite militias. The American forces in Baghdad announced that the soldiers who came as part of a controversial "surge" in February 2007 would complete a return to their base at Fort Benning in Georgia over the next several weeks. One third of the 3,500 troops have already left while the others are on their way, US military spokesman Major Winfield Danielson told AFP. Original URL: http://www.smallgovtimes.com/story/08may06.withdrawing.troops/index.html |