U.S. commander foresees worse violence before Iraqi elections

[sabra]

http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/news/local/12484555.htm

U.S. commander foresees worse violence before Iraqi elections

Associated Press

WASHINGTON - A senior U.S. commander in Iraq predicted Friday that insurgent violence will increase in the Sunni-dominated areas he commands north of Baghdad, but he also said there is a growing confidence among Iraqis that the insurgents will fail to stop planned elections in October and December.

Army Maj. Gen. Joseph J. Taluto, commander of the 22,000-soldier Task Force Liberty, also said that while his election security plan does not require any additional U.S. troops, he could use extra help if it were offered by Gen. George Casey, the top overall commander in Iraq, who is assessing election security needs.

Earlier this week the Pentagon announced that 1,500 soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, N.C., would be sent to Iraq for election security duty, but it did not say where in Iraq they would operate.

"If my boss offered up additional forces I would use them in certain places, but they are not 100 percent required," Taluto said in a two-way video link with reporters at the Pentagon. He spoke from his headquarters at Tikrit, the Tigris River city that is the home town of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

[Roland99]

1. Nice subtlety in that rhetoric:

I'll take more troops but I'm not specifically asking for them.

[sabra]

2. "not 100 percent required"

Sounds like Rumsfeld rhetoric?

[Roland99]

3. Was he sucking on his lower lip?

;)