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Soldiers wary of leaving war zones

Two soldiers from Florida would like to return home, but don't want to rush the pullout from Iraq and Afghanistan.

BALAD, Iraq - Sgt. Richard Roush, 40, of Brooksville, has mixed reactions to the recent announcement by the Bush administration that some troops in Iraq and Afghanistan could start going home.

"I've got a wife and kids at home," said Roush, who is serving at a base near Kabul, Afghanistan. "I would love to see everybody pulled out, but I don't want it to happen too soon. Then we'd be right back where we started."

Facing congressional pressure and waning public support for the conflict in Iraq, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld announced plans for the U.S. military to start reducing its troop strength in Iraq and Afghanistan during a surprise visit to the region in late December.

He ordered the number of troops in Afghanistan to be cut from 19,000 to about 16,500 by spring, but he did not reveal the exact size of the reduction in Iraq and cautioned that removing forces too quickly would impede the long-term hunt for terrorists.

Capt. Blane Kusterle, 27, of St. Petersburg said it would be a mistake to rush withdrawals.

They should occur only when the Iraqis are up to speed - and that could be a while.

"I think committing to a timeline would be detrimental to the process of handing over to the Iraqis," he said. "It is a good sign to pull the numbers down a bit, but not substantially."

As of late last month, 17 of the 109 former Iraqi bases used by coalition troops since the 2003 invasion had been transferred to Iraqi command, while 30 have been shut down, Army officers say.

[Last modified January 2, 2006, 02:30:25]