OH GOD

The CENTCOM official also said Monday that 24,000 U.S. troops who were scheduled to leave the country in the next few weeks will stay where they are.

The delay brings the U.S. force level in Iraq up to 135,000 troops, which is “an unusually high level,” Rumsfeld said Tuesday.

He did not respond to a question regarding how long the 24,000 troops due to rotate home might be kept in Iraq.