Letting the generals on the ground dictate our involvement in Iraq will always lead to more violence

Buildup in Iraq Needed Into ’08, U.S. General Says

By DAVID S. CLOUD and MICHAEL R. GORDON
Published: March 8, 2007

WASHINGTON, March 7 — The day-to-day commander of American forces in Iraq has recommended that the heightened American troop levels there be maintained through February 2008, military officials said Wednesday.

The White House has never said exactly how long it intends the troop buildup to last, but military officials say the increased American force level will begin declining in August unless additional units are sent or more units are held over.

The confidential recommendation by the commander, Lt. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, reflects the military’s new counterinsurgency doctrine, which puts a premium on sustained efforts to try to win over a wary population. It also stems from the complex logistics of deploying the five additional combat brigades that are being sent to Iraq as part of what the White House calls a “surge” of forces.

In fact, for now, it is really more of a trickle, since only two of the five brigades are in Iraq. The American military is stretched so thin that the last of the brigades is not expected to begin operations until June.


President Bush has often said that he will listen closely to advice from commanders in the field in making decisions about strategy and manpower in Iraq, but Pentagon officials emphasized Wednesday that no decision to extend the “surge” had been made. Military officials said General Odierno had provided his assessment to his superior, Gen. David H. Petraeus, who took over as the top American commander in Iraq earlier this year. General Petraeus has yet to make a formal recommendation to the Pentagon.

“We’re looking, as we should, at each of the three possibilities: hold what you have, come down, or plus up if you need to,” Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters at the Pentagon. General Pace said that “early data points” showed that sectarian attacks were slightly down since the Baghdad operation began. But he said that the increase in car bombs suggested that Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia was trying to incite further hostilities with this method..

report: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/08/washington/08military.html?ei=5088&en=3e942ae728ff95e3&ex=1331010000&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&pagewanted=print


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