Report: General Requests More Troops(request not public, but CNNI reporting Gates has signed order)

[maddezmom]

Report: General Requests More Troops
The Associated Press
Thursday, March 15, 2007; 11:59 PM


BOSTON -- The commander of U.S. forces in Iraq has asked for an additional 2,500 to 3,000 troops to be sent to Iraq as part of the Bush administration's military buildup to crack down on rising sectarian violence and insurgents, The Boston Globe reported.

Gen. David Petraeus wants another Army combat aviation unit _ which would be the sixth Army brigade involved in the buildup _ deployed to support the more than 26,000 soldiers already on their way to Iraq under the plan opposed by many Democrats in Congress, the Globe said in a report posted on its Web site Thursday night. The report quoted unidentified senior Pentagon officials.

The request has not yet been made public, according to the report, which quoted one official as saying the extra troops, to be backed by dozens of transport helicopters and powerful gunships, were needed to assist those on the ground now and those expected in Iraq shortly.

more:http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/16/AR2007031600002.html

~snip~

The appeal -- not yet made public -- by General David Petraeus for a combat aviation unit would involve between 2,500 and 3,000 more soldiers and dozens of transport helicopters and powerful gunships, said the Pentagon sources. That would bring the planned expansion of US forces to close to 30,000 troops.

News of the additional deployment comes about a week after President Bush announced that about 4,700 support troops will join the initial 21,500 he ordered in January. They are in addition to the estimated 130,000 troops already in Iraq.

"This is the next shoe to drop," said one senior Pentagon official closely involved in the war planning, who requested anonymity because of prohibitions against publicly discussing internal deliberations. "But you cannot put five combat brigades in there and not have more aviation guys, military police, and intelligence units."

The additional troops designated for the strategy are expected to be in Baghdad and western Anbar Province by May.

more:http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2007/03/16/general_seeks_another_brigade_in_iraq/

[hang a left]

1. Well goddamnit,,,,our guys have to have air support.

We knew that they were lying to the public with respect to the amount of troops they planned on adding to secure Bagdad. If we are ging to send them into the barrell they DO need some help.

I hate the idea of sending more of our precious young men into the hell that has been made, however, if they are forced to go in spite of the protest of the Americans; Lets give them some help.

[rodeodance]

2. This info. came outabout week or so ago (I think).

[rodeodance]

3. But glad to see it in the headlines again

[maddezmom]

4. I think this is addition to the other formal requests

I could be wrong :shrug: Here's another article:

Meanwhile, the "surge" keeps surging
A day after Senate Republicans -- with the help of Democrats Ben Nelson and Mark Pryor and independent Joe Lieberman -- beat back an effort to bring the Iraq war to a close, the Boston Globe is reporting that Gen. David Petraeus wants to add even more troops to the escalation already in progress.

George W. Bush's "surge" was supposed to involve about 21,500 combat troops. The Congressional Budget Office estimated that many more troops would have to be sent to support the president's additional combat troops, a claim the White House denied before it admitted: Last weekend, the president sent a letter to Congress in which he said he'd be sending 4,700 additional troops to Iraq. "Those combat troops are going to need, you know, some support, and that's what the American people are seeing in terms of Iraq -- the support troops necessary to help the reinforcements do their job," Bush said at the time.

Now what they're going to see, if Petraeus' request is approved, is another 2,500 to 3,000 American soldiers heading for Iraq. The troops would be part of a combat aviation unit that uses both "transport aircraft and powerful gunships," the Post says. A Pentagon official says it all stands to reason: You can't send 21,500 more combat troops into war without providing them the air support they need.

Maybe that's right, but why couldn't the White House just be honest about the size of the "surge" from the beginning? Even AEI's Frederick Kagan, one of the world's most outspoken advocates of the escalation, is asking that question now. "There is a problem in the way the administration reported the surge numbers to begin with," Kagan tells the Globe, "Petraeus has now requested what many thought would be needed to begin with, but it looks like another surge."

more: http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/2007/03/16/surge/index.html?source=rss

[maddezmom]

5. Pentagon Approves Early Deployment of Extra Troops to Iraq

Pentagon Approves Early Deployment of Extra Troops to Iraq

March 16, 2007 05:00 PM




WASHINGTON (AP) - Some 2,600 soldiers from a combat aviation unit will go to Iraq ahead of schedule, part of the support troops the Pentagon has said are needed to back the extra combat units President Bush is sending there.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates approved the deployment of the Army's 3rd Infantry Division combat aviation brigade 45 days earlier than planned, meaning they will go around May, Defense Department spokesman Bryan Whitman said Friday.

The approval will mean roughly 30,000 troops eventually will go to Baghdad and Anbar Province in the Bush administration's buildup to crack down on rising sectarian violence and insurgents, Whitman said.

Two months ago, Bush ordered 21,500 additional American troops to Iraq to help calm the violence. He did not initially mention the support units that would also be needed.

Officials later said that the number of support troops needed for the influx could be around 7,000. These include some 2,400 combat support troops and some 2,200 military police to help with an anticipated increase in detainees picked up during the crackdown.

Asked what he would say to critics of the steady additions to the original number, Whitman noted that some of the requests came after new U.S. commander Gen. David Petraeus arrived in Iraq and assessed what he needed.

more: http://www.wtvr.com/Global/story.asp?S=6237216


CNN said Gates signed the order for another combat aviation group late Thursday. The move follows a report that Gen. David Petraeus, the commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, asked for an additional 2,500 to 3,000 troops to be sent to Iraq as part of the Bush administration's military buildup to crack down on rising sectarian violence and insurgents.

The new Army combat aviation unit would be the sixth Army brigade involved in the recent troop buildup deployed to support the more than 26,000 soldiers already on their way to Iraq, the Boston Globe reported.

more:http://www.nasdaq.com/aspxcontent/NewsStory.aspx?cpath=20070316%5cACQDJON200703160926DOWJONESDJONLINE000624.htm&