Troop reductions in Iraq ... Marines diverted to Afghanistan

Lance Cpl. Nate Salatin, USMC, has been notified his unit is deploying in November but I now wonder if he will be going to Afghanistan. He was in Iraq in 2006-07.

President Bush announced in a live news conference on Fox News Tuesday morning that he would divert Marines to Afghanistan in November.

According to Fox News:

President Bush announced Tuesday that the Marine battalion that had been scheduled to deploy to Iraq in November will instead go to Afghanistan instead of Iraq.

The battalion, roughly 1,000 Marines, will be followed in January by an Army combat brigade. A brigade is 3,500-4,000 troops.

The president said he also plans to order 8,000 more combat and support troops out of Iraq by February, but plans to keep the bulk of U.S. force strength in Iraq largely intact until the next president takes over. No more combat brigades will come home from Iraq for the rest of this year.

Bush said the mission of the forces headed to Afghanistan will be to work with "Afghan forces to provide security for the Afghan people, protect Afghanistan's infrastructure and democratic institutions and help insure access to services like education and health care.

Wherever he goes, our prayers will go with him.