U.S. pullout from Iraq a mountainous challenge

CAMP ADDER, Iraq (Reuters) - For months now First Lieutenant Sidney Leslie's mind has not been on protecting U.S. military convoys in Iraq from bomb and insurgent attacks but on packing up, loading trucks and going home to Bedford, Virginia.

His 1st Battalion of the 116th Infantry Regiment ran military convoys across Iraq but is now among thousands of troops pulling out as the U.S. military cuts its numbers in Iraq to 50,000 by Aug. 31, when combat operations end.