U.S. plan to boost number of soldiers in Iraq curtailed

[ECH1969]

BAGHDAD, Iraq - The U.S. military has dropped plans to boost its presence in Iraq by more than 20,000 troops to safeguard elections here, a senior U.S. commander indicated Friday, as Iraq, Afghanistan and Hurricane Katrina stretched American forces.

The United States now plans to deploy 2,000 more troops for the Oct. 15 referendum on Iraq's constitution, bringing the U.S. total here "pretty close" to 140,000, Lt. Gen. John Vines told reporters in Washington during a video news conference.

The United States has 138,000 troops in Iraq. Pentagon officials said in late August they expected to temporarily boost that number to 160,000 as part of U.S. and Iraqi efforts to block an expected increase in insurgent attacks timed to the October vote and December parliamentary elections.

Vines made no mention Friday of the 160,000 figure from Pentagon officials late last month. Vines' aides could not be reached for comment Friday night, and a senior military spokesman in Iraq had no explanation for the lower number.

http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial/20050903/1041800.asp

[Cocoa]

1. I have an "explanation for the lower number"

domestic politics. Katrina.

[meganmonkey]

2. Shit

I wonder if this will conveniently become the excuse for the draft?

:scared:

[leesa]

4. Or will he just let those soldiers be ground up in Iraq?

[leftchick]

5. that is more likely

a draft would doom repukes in he 2006 election season. It is all about them.

[BootinUp]

3. Another trifecta for boosh

We are now at the breaking point.