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US Special Forces staying in Iraq
The number of U.S. Special Forces personnel in Iraq will remain static following an August drawdown date for combat troops, military leaders said in Washington.
U.S. Navy Adm. Eric Olson, the head of U.S. Special Operations Command, told an audience at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank, that his forces would stay active in Iraq.
"The special operations forces are not experiencing a drawdown in Iraq," he said. "Supporting them is a continuing mission of the rest of the force."
The numbers of U.S. forces are expected to drop from about 98,000 troops to 50,000 by the end of August.
Olson said the 4,500 Special Forces personnel, however, would stay behind.