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Pentagon Wants More Troops For Iraq
8:30 am PST, 26 October 2004
By 7am.com Staff
The Pentagon is seeking more than 20,000
additional troops for Iraq to help monitor
elections in January, on concerns the U.S. it
won't get enough new forces from allies.
The Defense Department says it is considering
ways to increase U.S. troop strength. Some of the
ideas under consideration are keeping forces
scheduled to rotate out longer, while speeding up
deployment of troops scheduled for Iraq next
year.
The goal, say officials, is to temporarily raise
the level of troops from the current 138,000 to
around 160,000, to help protect international and
Iraqi election workers and secure polling
locations, USA Today reports.
That level would be the highest concentration of
American forces in Iraq since President Bush
declared offensive operations over in May 2003.
Defense officials did not discuss many specifics
on the record, but Capt. Harold Pittman, a
spokesman for Gen. John Abizaid, the commander of
Central Command, told the paper, "Obviously, we
are looking at all of those options and taking
everything into account. ... There are a lot of
options, possibilities and venues on the table to
provide additional security during the election
time frame."
The easiest option, officials told the paper,
would be to delay the departure of the 1st
Cavalry Division, which is set to begin leaving
in January. Meanwhile, the Pentagon would advance
the deployment date of some elements of the U.S.
Army's 3rd Infantry Division.
Another option would be to deploy troops
currently being held in reserve in Kuwait or
deploying elements of the U.S. Army's 82nd
Airborne Division, which helped provide security
for elections in Afghanistan earlier this fall.
For it's part, the Bush administration would not
discuss troop decisions.
"The president will make sure that the commander
and the troops in the field have what they need
to win in Iraq," said Sean McCormack, a spokesman
for the White House's National Security Council.
A final decision won't be made until December,
said the paper, until after commanders discuss
training and force requirements.
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