Kinda sorta withdrawing from Iraq sometime or other, or, how sad ARE the Democratic Iraq hawks?

Joe Biden in his contribution to the Boston Review discussion of the Iraq War seems to have the light finally dawning on him that the US isn't capable of increasing the number of troops. He's still talking pie-in-the-sky, though not quite as impractically as before:

In the past, I argued that we needed more American troops in Iraq for exactly that purpose and to prevent the security vacuum that has been filled by former Baathists, foreign fighters, and common criminals. But the time for a large number of additional American troops is past. What we need now is a different mix, with more embedded trainers, civil-affairs units, and special forces. And what we will have to do now is rely on the Iraqis to take on the brunt of the security mission. The hard truth is that our large presence - while still the only check against chaos - also is increasingly part of the problem. Our failure to bring security and real improvements to Iraqis' lives has fueled frustration. The liberation is increasingly felt as an occupation. And, as Posen suggests, we risk creating a culture of dependency, especially among Iraqi security forces.

Finally, even if adding more troops still made sense, we don't have more to give. In fact, we cannot sustain what we have now beyond next spring unless we extend deployment times beyond 12 months, send soldiers back on fifth and sixth tours, or pull forces from other regions. That is why it is virtually certain that we will withdraw a significant number of forces from Iraq in 2006 - as many as 60,000 - and a similar number will follow in 2007. Perhaps - and here I may part company from Posen - 20,000 to 40,000 Americans will stay in Iraq or in neighboring countries for some time after that to continue training and equipping the Iraqis, to keep Iraq’s neighbors honest, and to form a rapid-reaction force to prevent terrorists from establishing a permanent base in Iraq.

Jolting Joe expects the Bush administration to withdraw 60,000 US troops in 2006. Promises, promises.

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