[Shadow_Group] U.S. force in Iraq to rise to biggest of war as election nears

[shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca]

..and still no where near 200,000 like someone here
once said and still says incorrectly...
==========
U.S. force in Iraq to rise to biggest of war as
election nears 
By Robert Burns, Associated Press, 12/1/2004 18:00

FROM:
http://www.boston.com/dailynews/336/wash/U_S_force_in_Iraq_to_rise_to_b:.shtml<http://www.boston.com/dailynews/336/wash/U_S_force_in_Iraq_to_rise_to_b:.shtml>
WASHINGTON (AP) The United States is expanding its
military force in Iraq to the highest level of the war
even higher than during the initial invasion in March
2003 in order to bolster security in advance of next
month's national elections. 

The 12,000-troop increase is to last only until March,
but it says much about the strength and resiliency of
an insurgency that U.S. military planners did not
foresee when Baghdad was toppled in April 2003. 

Brig. Gen. David Rodriguez, deputy operations director
of the Joint Staff, told reporters Wednesday that the
American force will expand from 138,000 troops today
to about 150,000 by January. 

The previous high for the U.S. force in Iraq was
148,000 on May 1, 2003, when President Bush declared
that major combat operations were over and most
soldiers thought the war had been won. The initial
invasion force included thousands of sailors on ships
in the Persian Gulf and other waters, plus tens of
thousands of troops in Kuwait and other surrounding
countries. 

The expansion in Iraq will be achieved by sending
about 1,500 troops from the 82nd Airborne Division in
Fort Bragg, N.C., this month and by extending the
combat tours of about 10,400 troops already in Iraq.
Those 10,400 will be extras until March because the
soldiers who were scheduled to replace them in January
will arrive as planned. 

Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld approved the
moves Wednesday, according to a Pentagon statement. 

''They are the most experienced and best-qualified
forces to sustain the momentum of post-Fallujah
operations and to provide for additional security for
the upcoming elections,'' the statement said. 

The Pentagon originally expected to train and equip
enough Iraqi government forces to fill the security
gap in the weeks leading up to the elections, but that
hope was not fulfilled. 

The military is reluctant to extend soldiers' combat
tours because of the potential negative effect it
could have on their families, and thus on their
willingness to remain in the service. In this case,
Gen. George Casey, the most senior U.S. commander in
Iraq, decided it was necessary to keep up pressure on
the insurgents while also providing security for the
elections. 

One unit, the 2nd Brigade of the 1st Cavalry Division,
is being extended for the second time. Its soldiers
originally were told they would be going home in
November at the end of a 10-month assignment, but in
October they got the news that they would remain until
mid-January. Now they are being extended until
mid-March. 

The 2nd Brigade of the 1st Cavalry and most of the
other extended units will end up serving about 14
months in Iraq, exceeding by two months the 12-month
standard set by the Army. 

Rodriguez listed these unit extensions: 

About 4,400 troops of the 2nd Brigade of the 25th
Infantry Division, which is operating in north-central
Iraq, will stay until mid-March, instead of departing
in early January. Those soldiers' home bases are
mostly in Hawaii. 

About 3,500 soldiers of the 2nd Brigade of the 1st
Cavalry, will be extended until March. These are the
soldiers who originally were told they would be
leaving Iraq in November. 

About 2,300 members of the 31st Marine Expeditionary
Unit, based in Okinawa, Japan and in Hawaii, and
California, will stay until mid-March instead of
leaving in January. 

About 160 soldiers of the 66th Transportation Company,
based in Germany, was due to depart Iraq in early
January but instead will stay until early March. 

The 82nd Airborne is generally relied upon by the Army
to keep one of its three brigades on short-notice
alert year-round to deploy abroad in the event of a
crisis. Shortly before the October elections in
Afghanistan, about 600 members of the 82nd Airborne
were sent there to strengthen security. 

Military officials have said repeatedly in recent
weeks that they were considering whether more American
troops would be required to provide sufficient
security before Iraqis vote. 

The moves announced Wednesday are in line with
expectations a combination of holding some troops in
Iraq longer than scheduled and sending some fresh
forces from the United States. 

Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., a critic of the
administration's handling of the war, said the
Pentagon's announcement confirmed that the effort to
stabilize Iraq would take years, with no certainty of
success. 

''This announcement makes it clear that commanders in
Iraq need more troops and that this will be a long and
very expensive process for the United States,'' Reed
said. ''It is still not clear whether Iraq will emerge
from this chronic violence as a viable and stable
country.'' 

Officials have said they were considering sending some
elements of the 3rd Infantry to Iraq earlier than
scheduled, as part of a force-bolstering plan. But
Rodriguez said it was decided that no units will have
their deployments accelerated as part of the
pre-election security effort. 

Security problems are most severe in the area north
and west of Baghdad, as well as in the capital itself.
Voter registration has not yet begun in the more
unstable cities such as Fallujah and Ramadi, west of
Baghdad. 

Recently there also has been trouble in the northern
city of Mosul. On Wednesday, U.S. soldiers traveling
through Mosul on a mission to discuss the January
election with Iraqis came under fire at a gasoline
station, witnesses said. One U.S. soldier was wounded
in the ensuing gunbattle.


=====



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