And, of course, the advantage of that is, they'll be so much closer to the action and closer to so much of the ground troop maneuvering that's going on, not just in this area, but further to the north.
Mr Romney says he would ask commanders on the ground about troop withdrawals on taking office.
The Clinton Administration does, though, and Washington seems to be creeping up to the ground-troop question only inch by reluctant inch.
And all of this was done without putting a single U.S. troop on the ground.
Asked whether further troop reductions could resume after the pause, Petraeus repeated his position that future troop levels be based on conditions on the ground.
He said that any troop reduction will be made based on conditions on the ground and on the recommendations of U.S. military commanders.
NPR: Bush Speech Highlights the Challenge of the Iraqi Insurgency
Obama has repeatedly called for a timetable for troop withdrawal, while McCain supports a withdrawal based on conditions on the ground.
Brown said the troop increase was contingent upon other countries also providing more boots on the ground, the Afghans stepping up their commitment to their own security, and the British troops being properly equipped.
President GEORGE W. BUSH: As we make progress on the ground and Iraqi forces increasingly take the lead, we should be able to further decrease our troop levels.
The BBC's Mark Doyle in Mali says a big international troop build-up is continuing ahead of a probable French-led air and ground offensive on Gao and other desert cities.
Those are the objectives, and the decisions he will make going forward regarding withdrawal and troop drawdowns will be based on the success of fulfilling those objectives and the conditions on the ground as he makes those decisions.
But what's interesting about this is that the president has all along said that when it comes to the idea of troop numbers, he's going to be taking his cues from the commanders on the ground, particularly General Casey.
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