U.S. says troop buildup nearly complete

[babylonsister]

Source: AP

U.S. says troop buildup nearly complete

By KIM GAMEL, Associated Press Writer 11 minutes ago

BAGHDAD - Twin car bombings struck intersections near Baghdad's most revered Shiite shrine Wednesday. The military said the buildup of some 30,000 extra U.S. troops aimed at stopping such attacks is nearly complete but it could take up to two months for the newly arrived reinforcements to be fully effective.

That would come just weeks before Gen. David Petraeus is due to report to President Bush and Congress in September on the security operation amid Democratic-led calls to start bringing American troops home from an increasingly unpopular war.

The military also announced that four more U.S. soldiers were killed. The deaths raised to at least 3,498 the number of members of the U.S. military who have died since the start of the
Iraq war in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.

more...

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070606/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq;_ylt=AuL.bal03T9ZDD.3TjbQNIPMWM0F

[peace13]

1. Why do they give such valuable information to the enemy?

Why not draw them a map and call it a day?

[Massachusetts]

2. We'll need them to get OUR Troops out safely.

"How many fronts are there in the Iraq War? The Sunni Arab guerrillas of the center, west and north are themselves fighting a four-front war. They are fighting US troops. They are fighting Shiites. They are fighting Kurds in the Kirkuk region and Ninevah and Diyala provinces. And they are fighting other Sunni Arab forces (Baathists fight Salafi fundamentalists, and both fight tribal levies gravitating to the Americans)."

"Then there is a muted Shiite front with two dimensions. Radical Shiites attack US forces. And, in Basra, Diwaniya and elsewhere, there is Shiite on Shiite violence as the Badr Corps paramilitary of the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council (often infiltrated into the Iraqi police) fights the Mahdi Army of Muqtada al-Sadr."

"So that makes 6-- four Sunni Arab fronts and 2 Shiite fronts."


-Juan Cole
Informed Comment

[annabanana]

3. "up to two months. . . to be fully effective." Way to

push those goal posts back, fellas...

(don't think we don't notice that crap)