U.S. Loses 7,000 Troops In Iraq

It's hard to make any plans for getting out of Iraq -- or any plans for anything, ever -- when the freakin' Department of Defense has no idea how many American troops are in Iraq:

The precise number of U.S. troops is murky. [General John] Abizaid today it was over 140,000. His staff later said it was closer to 142,000. Colonel Nelson McCouch, spokesman for [General George] Casey, said in an e-mail from Baghdad Sept. 17 that the current level is about 147,000.

How do you misplace 7,000 (presumably living) troops? Are they home in America? Did they go AWOL? Abducted by aliens? Don't you people have a spreadsheet or something?

Anyway, no matter how many U.S. troops are in Iraq today, the number will not decrease for at least a year, according to the same commanders who have no idea how many U.S. troops are in Iraq today.

 Abizaid Says No Troop Cuts in Iraq Before Mid-2007 [Bloomberg]