US expected to boost troop levels in Iraq

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/1119/p03s01-usmi.html

Some question whether it will be enough to quell the violence and worry about the impact of prolonged tours.

By Ann Scott Tyson | Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor

Amid a spike in violence in Iraqi cities coinciding with the Fallujah offensive, the US military is now planning to boost combat forces to secure the country for elections in January.

The US is likely to expand the force by thousands of GIs in coming weeks by delaying the departure of more experienced units from Iraq as fresh troops rotate in, military officials say.

The overlap would create a temporary surge in American forces - which now number 141,000 in Iraq - to cope with an expected wave of insurgent attacks aimed at disrupting the polling. More US troops are required as Iraqi security forces remain highly vulnerable to attacks and intimidation. This was underscored by a rash of insurgent strikes on police stations in Mosul, Baqubah, and other cities in the past week, when attacks nationwide rose to 50 percent higher than the average in recent months.

Some US military officials have long argued that the United States cannot win the war in Iraq without committing tens of thousands more troops. Others contend that more troops would simply present more targets, and the US military should scale back and let Iraqis contend with much of the violence.

In reality, the US cannot substantially increase ground forces in Iraq for the long term without accepting risk in other parts of the world or making Iraq tours longer or closer together - a step sure to lower morale. "I'm committed to providing the troops that are requested, but I can't promise more than I've got," the Army chief of staff, Gen. Peter Schoomaker, told a Congressional hearing Wednesday in which military service chiefs detailed soaring demands on manpower and equipment.

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[Norquist Nemesis]

1. "US to boost troop levels..."

Beat me with a wet noodle! How can this be possible with Rumsfeld's leaner force?

(US compares SS registrations with DOE. Get ready! The shit's heading towards the fan.)

[FormerOstrich]

2. Conditioning for the draft

first this type of report.....the increase created from the overlap will be absorbed and new level set......need for moor troops for the Election (because who really thinks there will be on in January?)

then......

all they need is some slight catastrophe (e.g. terror attack) and then the call for good Americans to step up to the plate.

Remember *s call for four years of volunteer work (or something like that)? He'll explain to the people there was just no way for him to predict that these latest atrocities occurred. Therefore, we will have to implement the mandatory volunteer work program...step on up sons and daughters (but not mine).

[chicagojoe]

3. If they get anywhere near my kid, I WILL go postal. Seriously.

[Divine Discontent]

6. sick laughter.....

this news is driving me batty... but I'll gather myself around my faith. this president and his controllers (oh come on, you know it, he's reagan without the alzheimer's! hey that's pretty good, don't steal it)
anyhow, the sad thing is, I think they may ASK for voluntary service, and (sick laughter) the repug children will volunteer with PRIDE to serve their King George..... you go right ahead young repubs... that's all I'm gonna say...

[okieinpain]

12. I only wish that was true, I have this funny feeling that a lot

of those godly moral children are suddenly going to get really stupid, and forget who they voted for.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

4. Sorry, they can't have mine either!

I am leaning toward becoming one of those gun packing liberals.

[saigon68]

35. Buy a 22 join--- a gun club, keep your politics to yourself

When you become proficient, buy as many guns as you can and teach everyone in your family how to use them

You WILL need them.

[Sin]

42. Yea huh

We got ours just for target pratice but ive been shooting since i was young Im 23 now every one in my family knows how to shoot except my gf she hasen't done mutch shooting.Have to get back into swing of it havent had mutch time to go out as of late.

[cosmik debris]

41. Gun Show In Waco

This weekend, See you there.

[Tight_rope]

5. "US expected to boost troop levels" = DRAFT!

I have no kids and I refuse to have a Bushbaby. In other words, you would have to be a fool to have a kid under the Bush administration.

[bunny planet]

25. So those of us who already have children, are what ....... stupid for not

planning on Bush coming along and stealing them from us. :wtf: Think before you post please. I had mine during the Clinton administration, when there was peace and prosperity, and the Nazification of America did not seem to be anywhere on the horizon.

[Qanisqineq]

7. No, no, no, noooo

My husband was told that next month, he is getting NEW ORDERS. Great. We just moved here and he's only been back from Iraq since late March.

[Divine Discontent]

8. I'll pray for you... :*( n/t

[Qanisqineq]

10. thank you

that is very kind. :hi:

[bunny planet]

24. Same here, I pray for you and your family too.

[yorkiemommie1]

17. i'll keep my fingers crossed for him..

my friend's son, 37, went to afghanistan, then iraq, home for a year, now back to iraq. awful.

[Qanisqineq]

22. that is terrible!

Bush is the cause of so many broken hearts, broken families, divorce, and so much death. It is just sad.

[SheepyMcSheepster]

18. best wishes in these trying times.

:hi:

[Qanisqineq]

23. thanks!

:hug:

[saracat]

9. Really??? What a surprise! Not!

:eyes:

[Be Brave]

11. Shit! n/t

[okieinpain]

13. I would find a lot of humor in this story. but I've got a 19 year old

that I'm going to have to find some place to put him if this starts to happen.

[OneBlueSky]

14. um . . . FLASH! . . . the US ain't gonna "win" in Iraq . . .

no matter what we do . . . BushCo's invasion and occupation and their treatment of the Iraqi people (e.g. bombing civilians, humiliating prisoners, etc.) has created a situation that is unwinnable under any circumstances . . . the only way to "win" the war in Iraq is to pull out all American troops, dismantle all American installations, and remove all America corporations . . . otherwise, our grandchildren will still be fighting the "insurgents" decades from now . . .

[jamesinca]

21. We will win in Iraq

We won Vietnam, and Reagan finished off communism. McCarthy made us all aware and got us understanding the red scare and his fellow republican Reagan finished off that idea. It took republicans to do that, not the weak dems like Kennedy or Carter. Clinton was weak on national security like FDR and the rest of the dems, so Bush was desperately needed to save us from the threat of the new millennium. Try to keep up people, we need to get a larger military and start a draft because the weak dems have destroyed this country. Johnson was the best democrat there was, he understood the red threat. He did what was needed to get the war in Vietnam really going, he lied about the Gulf of Tonkin. That was very republican, but since he was not a republican, he was not able to win that one. Nixon saved this country from dem weakness in the '70s, just in time I might add. If dems would get off of their peace loving asses the U.S. could own the world, turn Europe into a parking lot and put a Wal-Mart on it. <sarcasm off>

[DulceDecorum]

15. Instead of paying mercenaries to harrass Iraqis

why don't we just give the Iraqis weekly stipends
to go back to whatever it was they were doing
before Bush got that bee up his backside?

[LynnTheDem]

16. but BUSH said US would be down to 30,000 troops by LAST YEAR.

BUSh is always wrong. BUSH is a huge miserable failure.

Always has been, always will be.

Enjoy dying for your bush-god, freeping rightwingnuts...bush-god will enjoy you dying for his wallet!

[m_welby]

19. yeah george? well I've got a 23 yr old and a 17 yr old and

you can have them after you go through me and my wife

[jdj]

20. It's so heartening to read these posts from parents of draft age

children.

I have two draft age nephews, and I am the only Kerry voter in my family that I know of.

I sincerely hope there will be a revolution in this generation like there was in the sixties if the draft comes.

I wish I knew of some liberal cable stations we could get to start playing the movies that covered this subject matter, like "Hair" and "Born on the fourth of July", and "Good Morning Vietnam" etc. I am sure there are others...

[bunny planet]

26. I have three children and Bush will have to step over my dead body

to take them. He has to be stopped, it might as well be now. If he dares to reinstate the draft, he is going to finally wake up the sleeping giant out here, mark my words. This will make the 60's look like a picnic. Anybody notice the beginnings of the Iran propaganda out there this week?

:grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr:

They will not get away with it again. Remember, the mandate is a lie, he did not really win the election. All of those people out there who did not vote for him far outnumber the 57 million that we were told voted for Kerry, there are in truth, many, many more of us. And they will not be so complacent when he tries to take their children to war. He is going to overreach, look what he's done so far in just two weeks.

He will make a huge mistake if he does the draft. We must be vigilant in observing the way he's going to do it, it will be sneaky and underhanded you can be sure. We must be on top of it, expose it for what it is and SCREAM REALLY LOUD. He is reinstating the draft, it is just a matter of exposing how they are doing it for the people who may not be paying as much attention as we are. Talk about a wedge issue, that is a giant one, in our favor.

[grumpy old fart]

28. If the draft cranks up, the Bush girls

need to be the first ones to the front lines along with every child of every chicken hawk m'f***er in Congress.

[Ilsa]

37. Amen. Bush needs to show it is necessary for our security

by being willing to send his own family.

[grumpy old fart]

40. Though I'm sure they will have "other priorities"..

ala puppet master Cheney in the 60's....

[Straight Shooter]

27. Remember the Repubs said Kerry was trying to SCARE us about a draft?

and all the Pavlovian dogs, the bushies, barked and barked and said you won't send us to war, will you, Good Master?

And now they will see. And they will weep. And then they will pretend their children are dying for this country, when all they get in return is a useless symbol of what our country once stood for, a folded flag.

And it's Vietnam all over again, except this time half the country has its eyes wide open, and we know, and we tried to stop it.

Evil is as evil does, no matter whose religion it adopts as its crown.

[Ravenseye]

29. Gimme a D!

D!

[Ravenseye]

30. Gimme an R!

R!

[Ravenseye]

31. Gimme an A!

A!

[Ravenseye]

32. Gimme an F!

F!

[Ravenseye]

34. Gimme a T!

T!

[saigon68]

44. WHATS IT SPELL IRAQ-NAM

YOU CAN BE THE FIRST ONE ON YOUR BLOCK TO HAVE YOUR BOY OR GIRL COME HOME IN A BOX.

UNDATED TO REFLECT GENDER EQUAL OPPORTUNITY TO DIE FOR HALLIBURTON.

[Ilsa]

33. Well, they have to send 100 for losses in November, dammit. n/t

[grumpy old fart]

38. 500...don't forget the wounded. n/t

[Weembo]

36. My 18 year old has wingnut friends

Who all sit around talking about signing up, etc. in the context of their view of "duty." I will incapacitate my son, physically or geographically, before I lose him to this insanity.

[grumpy old fart]

39. Get them some pictures of the REAL war....

and then let's see how gung ho they are. Remind them that that wounded Arab in the mosque is gonna be them.....

[ally_sc]

43. here we go

That didn't take long did it?