We saw
this coming. Of course no one will speak on the record about this. That's because there is a presidential election next week. But this Administration's hand has been revealed.
By Tom Squitieri, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON -- Concerned that they won't get enough new troops from allies to help provide security for Iraqi elections in January, Pentagon officials are considering increasing the current U.S. force by delaying the departures of some U.S. troops now in Iraq and accelerating the deployment of others scheduled to go there next year.
The goal is to temporarily raise the number of U.S. troops in Iraq from the current 138,000 to almost 160,000 to help protect international and Iraqi election workers and secure polling locations.
That addition would bring the sustained U.S. troop presence in Iraq to its highest level since President Bush declared an end to major combat operations on May 1, 2003.
Defense officials were reluctant to discuss the options on the record. But Capt. Harold Pittman, a spokesman for Gen. John Abizaid, the commander of Central Command, said, "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."
Four Defense officials with direct knowledge of troop planning for Iraq discussed what the Pentagon must do to meet the need for more troops at election time. They asked not to be identified because troop matters are highly sensitive and decisions have not yet been finalized. Abizaid said in September that he would need more forces to secure the elections, but hoped they could be Iraqis or foreign troops. The Pentagon has been unable to persuade allies to send enough new forces, and U.S. commanders have so far been unable to train enough Iraqi troops to fill the gap.
The easiest option, the Defense officials said, is to delay the departure from Iraq of the 1st Cavalry Division, which is set to begin leaving in January. At the same time, the Pentagon would move up the deployment of some elements of the Army's 3rd Infantry Division.
The other options include using U.S. troops now being held in reserve in Kuwait or deploying elements of the Army's 82nd Airborne, which helped provide security for the elections in Afghanistan earlier this month, the officials said.
The White House declined to discuss troop options. "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 will be made no later than December after U.S. Army Gen. George Casey, overall commander in Iraq, and Army Maj. Gen. David Petraeus, who is in charge of training Iraqi forces, go through a series of "decision points" to gauge if additional Iraqi forces are sufficiently trained and equipped and what mix of additional U.S. forces will be necessary, the Defense officials said.