LAT: Troop 'surge' has yet to materialize in Iraq [View All]

Troop 'surge' has yet to materialize in Iraq
By Louise Roug, Times Staff Writer
February 9, 2007

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- A month after the Bush administration announced a "surge" in troops for Baghdad, Iraqis are still waiting for anything to change.

Fewer than 20 percent of the additional Iraqi and American troops have arrived so far. And the roughly 5,000 troops that have arrived have yet to make a visible influence in this sprawling city of 6 million people, where thousands of gunmen already patrol the streets.

U.S. officials are trying to manage expectations domestically and in Iraq, continually reasserting that troops slowly will take up their positions in the city over the coming months.

But after one of the bloodiest weeks since the U.S.-led invasion of 2003, Iraqis are increasingly impatient. A series of high-profile attacks on civilians and security forces killed more than 1,000 Iraqis and at least 33 U.S. troops in the last eight days.

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates has said he is investigating whether he can speed the pace of the troop buildup. But a senior Pentagon official said this week that it was unlikely that U.S. troops could be sent to Baghdad any faster than planned. The five brigades going to Baghdad are due to arrive one per month, with the final brigade arriving in May.

So far, 3,000 American troops and about 2,000 Iraqi counterparts have arrived here, according to U.S. officials. "I will be surprised if we can generate forces faster," said the senior official. Speeding the arrival of U.S. forces would require a cut in training time, he said -- a move resisted by Army officials....

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-surge10feb10,0,5491534.story?coll=la-home-headlines