Special to WorldTribune.com

BAGHDAD — With six weeks to meets its deadline, the U.S. military
has accelerated its withdrawal from Iraq.

Officials said the pace of the U.S. troop pullout from Iraq has increased in
November. They said thousands of troops were leaving for Kuwait on a
weekly basis, with about 30,000 troops left in Iraq.

On Nov. 14, the U.S. military announced its withdrawal from a major air base in southern Iraq, Middle East Newsline reported. The military said it would complete its pullout from the Imam Ali base and transfer it to Iraq by the end of November.

So far, the Army’s 1st Division has withdrawn 1,500 soldiers and more than 2,000 pieces of equipment from Imam Ali. The base, operated by the division’s 3rd Brigade, has been regarded as one of the most important U.S. military facilities in Iraq.

On Nov. 9, the U.S. Army’s 40th Combat Aviation Brigade, based in Camp Taji near Baghdad, completed its mission in Iraq. The brigade, which deployed fixed- and rotary wing aircraft as well as unmanned aerial vehicles, commanded what officials said marked the largest aviation unit ever mobilized.

“Its aircraft played a critical role during the drawdown phase of the Iraq conflict by providing force protection and freedom of maneuver as
American forces closed bases and moved out,” a U.S. military statement said.

The U.S. military controls no more than 11 bases in Iraq, down from 505
in 2009. Officials said over the next few weeks, Washington intends to
transfer formal control over all of the bases to Baghdad.

  40th Combat Aviation Brigade, Camp Taji, Imam Ali base, U.S. Army 1st Division, U.S. picks up pace of withdrawal from Iraq as deadline nears