Pace: US troops in Iraq could rise
(AP)Updated: 2007-07-17 09:10
BAGHDAD - The US military is weighing new directions for Iraq, including an even bigger troop buildup if President Bush thinks his "surge" strategy needs a further boost, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Monday.
 This photo provided by the Defense Department shows Army Gen. David Petraeus, commander, multi-national Forces in Iraq, left, greeting outgoing Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Peter Pace, Monday, July 16, 2007, at Baghdad International Airport in Baghdad, Iraq. [AP]  |
The Joint Chiefs are considering a range of actions, including another troop buildup, Pace said without making any predictions. He called it prudent planning to enable the services to be ready for Bush's decision.
The military must "be prepared for whatever it's going to look like two months from now," Pace said in an interview with two reporters traveling with him to Iraq from Washington.
"That way, if we need to plus up or come down" in numbers of troops in Iraq, the details will have been studied, he said.
Pace, on his first visit since US commanders accelerated combat operations in mid-June, said another option under consideration is maintaining current troop levels beyond September.
There are now about 158,000 US troops in Iraq, reflecting a boost of about 30,000 to carry out the new strategy Bush announced in January. The plan is focused on providing better security for Iraqis in Baghdad, but the intended effect - political reconciliation between Sunnis and Shiites - has yet to be achieved, and many in Congress are clamoring to begin withdrawing troops soon.
In Washington on Monday, Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid said he would force the chamber's first all-night debate on the Iraq war Tuesday night in advance of a vote Wednesday on whether to bring home all combat troops by next spring.
Republicans are using Senate rules to insist that the measure have 60 votes to pass - a de facto filibuster since it takes that many votes to cut off debate.
Pace said in Iraq that the administration must consider not only what works best on the battlefield but also the growing stress of more than four years of war on American troops and their families.
He repeatedly mentioned his concern about soldiers and Marines doing multiple tours of duty and the decision in January to extend soldiers' Iraq deployments by three months, to 15 months.
"That has impact on families," he said in a separate Associated Press interview at a US military headquarters on the outskirts of the capital after meeting with commanders and conferring by secure video teleconference with Bush.
Pace also conferred with Petraeus and Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno, the No. 2 commander in Iraq, who said he did not currently foresee requesting more troops.
"Right now I can't find an assessment where I would say I need more troops," Odierno said, adding that he is confident that by September he will be able to give Petraeus his advice on how the troop buildup is working.
"My assessment right now is, I need more time" to understand how the offensive targeting al-Qaida in Iraq is working and how it could lead to political progress, Odierno said.
"I'm seeing some progress now here in Iraq. We have really just started what the Iraqis term 'liberating' them from al-Qaida. What I've got to determine is what do I need in order to continue that progress so that the political piece can then take hold and Iraqi security forces can hold this for the long term."
Pace said he saw signs of improvement since his previous visit in April, based in part on a 30-minute aerial tour of Baghdad in a Black Hawk helicopter as well as private talks with commanders.
"The surge is having very good positive results on the streets of Baghdad," he told AP. "We have yet to see the political progress and results that you would hope to see."
All the while, the violence continues. On Monday, a
suicide truck bombing followed by two smaller car bombs killed more than 80
people and wounded at least 180 in Kirkuk, about 180 miles north of Baghdad.
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