US pours more troops into Iraq

[Pale_Rider]

http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/12/19/1071337150168.html

The United States pledged more troops for Iraq, as another US soldier died in an ambush and Russia agreed to consider reducing Iraq's crippling debt.

US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has approved the deployment of an extra brigade of the elite 82nd Airborne Division to Iraq next month.

He has also extended the tour of duty of another brigade to maintain combat power as other forces are rotated out, senior defence officials said.

The deployment will increase the total size of the US force in Iraq by a couple of thousand troops over a three month period during which the entire force will be replaced with fresh units, the officials said.

"It is a spike, no question about it," one official said.

"But it will provide some capability during the transition period that (General John) Abizaid thought was important."

Abizaid, commander of the US Central Command, asked for the deployment of the 82nd Airborne's 1st Brigade after deciding an infantry brigade of the Washington National Guard that was to have deployed to Iraq next month needed more training.

And according to the Washington Post ...

1st Brigade Sent to Iraq As 'Bridge'
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A13302-2003Dec18.html

The 3rd Brigade's mission was extended because the unit's replacement, the 81st Armor Brigade from the Washington National Guard, needs two months additional training, the officials said. The 1st Brigade is being sent to Iraq for 120 days, the officials said, to add combat capability and serve as a bridge during the transition between the arrival of the 81st Armor and the departure of the 82nd's 3rd Brigade.

[bluestateguy]

1. The fraud continues

The plan was to draw down from 130,000 to 105,000 by June. Then it's 108,000 with the addition of 3000 more Marines, and now this. By June, I predict we'll have 125,000 troops in Iraq, but the media will tell us "the troops are on the way home".

[Pale_Rider]

3. Troops are bound to be ...

... on the way home, only to be replaced with more. Oh will it ever end.

[PaDUer]

5. Uhh...

DRAFT is coming quicker..talked w/ a soldier this afternoon..she said Yes indeed, and they've been made aware..doesn't look good folks!

[Mika]

6. Actually, when the draft comes this house of cards comes down

Then we'll see how true those Time/CNN/AOL/USA/MSNBC polls are.

[Pale_Rider]

9. Yep ...

... the causualty rate must be climbing higher. Mo' cannon fodder.

[dave46]

13. I really doubt that

the draft is going to be used in Iraq. While any casulties are horrible, they arn't that high yet and Bush knows it would be political suicide.

[Tinoire]

14. You're only about 2000 off- good job

<snip>

The US military is to begin a massive rotation of forces at the start of next year that will see all 123,000 troops now in Iraq replaced by fresh units.

The additional troops will comprise an extra brigade of the elite 82nd Airborne Division.

The soldiers will be leaving in January and be there for about four months.

More than 3,500 troops also from the 82nd Airborne Division who are in Iraq now and were due to return home in February are being asked to stay on an extra couple of months.

Pentagon officials are portraying this as a minor adjustment to their planning, says the BBC's Nick Childs, at the Pentagon.

<snip>
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3333049.stm

[NickB79]

15. "Fresh units" are what now?

Oh yeah, hastily-trained 18-20 yr olds in the Natl. Guard that never thought they'd EVER see real combat in their lives. The first line of troops, the Marines and Army who prepared for years for this kind of fighting, are being replaced by inexperienced kids. You think we've seen bad casualties now, wait until the new guys get transferred in and come up against battle-hardened resistance fighters who have many months experience AND are playing on home turf.

[Mari333]

16. Ya my 21 yr old stepson! Reserves.....Going in January

teenager with a gun..doesnt know a damned thing.....scared and angry...totally NOT ready....signed up for weekends...thats whats going over there...
scared shitless kids. Who will come back betrayed and a fucking MESS when they find out it was all for nothing.

[opihimoimoi]

2. The Poor Pawns are moved into the trap of the sand dune,

Its all about the Spice.

[nadinbrzezinski]

4. You know more and more

I cannot think that anythying is imposible in fiction any more

Oh wait, this plot is real life... and god I couod not sell this plot
as a novel, nobody would buy it.

Now is the Third Brigade the one that caught Sadamn? Anybody knows?

[tabasco]

7. No, it was a unit of the 4th Infantry DIV that got Saddam

Not the 82nd.

[jmcgowanjm]

8. The idiocy of this policy cannot be overstated.

these were desperate people to start with.
They didn't back down from Saddam and they
aren't going to back down from some US
soldiers. They KNOW we're leaving. They
know it and they will kill Americans until we leave.

http://stevegilliard.blogspot.com/

BTW-a trial for Saddam in Iraq will be
impossible.

Someone doubt this, then give me the
scenario.

[JPace]

10. If a civil war breaks out in Iraq

there is not going to be any
amount of American troops that
can stop the slaughtering that
will take place without high
casualties on every side.

[tlcandie]

11. Food for thought.... consider the IRA in Ireland ... many similarities..

Listened to Edward Moloney on Democracy NOW! discusses the shocking similarities between Ireland/IRA and what is happening in Iraq.

Ireland's Catholic Church = Iraq and Iraqi Resistance
British soldiers = America & Brits


Originally the Catholic Church welcomed the British soldiers as did many Iraqis, but then they turned on them when the soldiers started dealing out punishment and abuses; again, just like Iraq.

There were about 30k British troops for the approximately 650k population of Ireland and it took 30 years(?) to end the conflict. At the end of the day it was not military might or intimidation that worked it was diplomacy/politics.

Moloney said just do the math. If it took 30 years to come to a resolution, not my military might, with only that many citizens how many years will the US/Brit be in Iraq? Compare 140k soldiers versus 4.5 million people.

Moloney continued to state that if a resistance is organic it will not be resolved via military might only by diplomacy/politics.


Additionally, the British were stating that outsiders (i.e. mercenaries, etc.) were coming into Ireland to fight against the British just like the US is stating is happening in Iraq. He said that it was not true then and most likely not true now. And if it is then it will be even worse! Stated that toppling one figure or any figurehead or symbol will NOT change anything...only make it worse just like the Palestinians.

MANY similarites!!! Quite interesting..

http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=03/12/19/1728242

Video/Audio is here for today's show. Moloney's statements should be here. I did not see a transcript.

[m-jean03]

12. "we don't NEED to escalate...

War's not the answer
Only love can conquer hate..." Marvin Gaye "what's going on"

Why don't ya send in some LOVE, Rummy?