New Iraq War Deployments Announced
Hot off the Pentagon presses:
Notice the two BCTs from the First Cavalry Division are heading back to Iraq. Their deployment suggests a certain counterinsurgency continuity, post-surge. 1CAV is one of the most important Iraq-war divisions. Under the command of Maj. Gen. (now Lt. Gen.) Peter Chiarelli — slated to be the next vice chief of staff of the U.S. Army — 1CAV became heavily steeped in counterinsurgency doctrine. When Gen. Petraeus selected his forces in advance of the surge, he specifically picked BCTs from 1CAV to go to Baghdad and Mosul. With Gen. Odierno, Petraeus’ successor, not really explaining how he’ll institute a surge-like strategy without the additional surge forces, the deployment of these two BCTs is rather conspicuous.
