U.S. to send 20,000 additional troops to stabilize Iraq

SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COM ^ | 25 May 03

[SLB]

The United States plans to increase its military force in Iraq in an effort to stabilize the country.

U.S. officials said nearly 20,000 troops would arrive in Iraq over the next few weeks. This would increase the U.S. force level to about 163,000 troops. Currently, about 145,000 U.S. soldiers are deployed in Iraq.

U.S. troops have disarmed a militia group affiliated with pro-American Iraqi politician Ahmed Chalabi, as part of a campaign to impose law and order in Iraq, a political official said Sunday.

But fighters of the biggest Muslim Shi'ite group, trained by Washington's bitter foe Iran, reacted warily to the U.S. military's June 14 ultimatum for Iraqis to surrender their weapons.

Parts of Iraq were plunged into chaos after U.S.-led forces toppled president Saddam Hussein last month, and some Iraqis complain that crime has reached unprecedented levels. Gen. Peter Pace, deputy chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the additional troops would come from the 1st Armored Division, Middle East Newsline reported.

The U.S. military dissolved the Free Iraq Forces (FIF) and disarmed its fighters, said Entifadh Qanbar, spokesman for Chalabi's Iraqi National Congress.

The FIF, with fewer than 700 fighters and armed with assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenades, had been working under U.S. command.

Pace said the arrival of the armored division would represent the peak force level of the U.S. military in Iraq.

"The number is being increased as we speak by about 18,000 with the arrival of the 1st Armored Division," Pace told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday. "And then beyond that, there are no current projected deployments."

The United States has been joined by 20,000 British troops in Iraq. Washington has been discussing the contribution of other allies to the stabilization effort in Iraq.

[SLB]

Any bets that Army Chief of Staff Eric Shinseki and the fired Secretary of the Army Tom White are snickering and saying "Told you so?"

[SLB]

Comments?

[saquin]

We're doing now what we should have done from the beginning. We're approaching 200,000 troops, which I believe is what Shinseki said we'd need to stabilize the country. Too bad his thoughts were dismissed. We could have avoided a lot of problems. But, better late than never, I guess.

[joesnuffy]

As long as "Palestinians", Saudi Arabia, Syria, Jordon, Lebbanon, Iran, Sudan,Somalia,Yemin,Algeria,Lybia,
France, Germany, Russia, China, Canada, Cuba, et al ...are still engaged in terrorism, or the financing, sheltering,harboring, training, equiping, and offering any kind of support
This war will never end...and Iraq will have a steady supply of Jiihadis..
They...like we...need to seal the borders...

[Fred Mertz]

Thanks for the heads up. Rummy won't admit to being wrong even if he is. Plus-up of the Brits 20K more is kind of buried in this story.

[Unknown Freeper]

bump for later

[Momaw Nadon]

Prelude to invasion of Iran?

[cookcounty]

This is not a "new commitment." though the anti-Bush press is trying to spin it that way. The 1st was publicly committed back in January, it's just that they're finally arriving now.

[oceanview]

this is true.

still, I saw a report on Fox today about the general effort to stabilize the country. In Baghdad, the reporter said the electricity is still only on for two hours per day. Why? Were the generating plants destroyed? No followup on the report as to why it is taking so long to restore power, is it lack of refined diesel to run the generators?

[BlackVeil]

In Baghdad, the reporter said the electricity is still only on for two hours per day. On the weekend, the Australian foreign minister was visiting Baghdad, and he went everywhere escorted by an absolute regiment of armed forces, because security is so bad. There was an electricity station in the background, and someone pointed it out and said that it is operating at only 20% capacity.

Also, in another report, I read that the water mains in Nasiriyeh had finally been restored, but then had been "looted" within a few days, and so now wrecked again. Reading this, I wondered if some of the "looting" might not be a deliberate sabotage by guerilla forces.

[BlackVeil]

They also might need greater troop numbers, because of the terrible weather and unhealthy conditions in southern Iraq.

[Non-Sequitur]

Prelude to invasion of Iran?

God I hope not. We can't even get one country settled, the last thing we need is another.

[oceanview]

they had better move fast to get water and electricity going faster then they have been. does it take a genius to post guards at something as vital as a water plant? I don't mean to sound like Bob Graham, but we have to do better before things really do become a problem over there.

[csmusaret]

Close but no cigar. Shinseki said "several hundred thousand" not 200,000.

[ContentiousObjector]

how the hell do you loot a water main?

[Non-Sequitur]

Close but no cigar. Shinseki said "several hundred thousand" not 200,000.

Two can be interpreted as 'several. Besides, that idiot Richard Pearle said it could be done with less that 30,000. Who was closer?

[oceanview]

you steal the pumping equipment, or just vandalize the pipes.

[BlackVeil]

how the hell do you loot a water main? That is exactly what I was asking myself. I suppose that there might be deisel generators, which could be taken away and sold. But most of the equipment, surely, is not of any use elsewhere. Which is why one wonders if someone isn't striking out at any public property to hand, as a gesture of resentment. The water mains at Nasireyeh had been restored by an international charity, not the new govt in Iraq. They need to get control.

[csmusaret]

2 is never several. Shinseki was wrong and , if you are correct so was Pearle. Is there a point here other than 2 people were very wrong?

[patriciaruth]

Rummy won't admit to being wrong even if he is.

Actually the plan was Tommy Franks'.

How Tommy Franks Won the Iraq War