Pentagon acknowledges Bremer called for more troops in Iraq

[ProSense]

What's the point of saying this now? This is not news. Rummy should have been fired two years ago. In fact, stop the bleeding today.

Pentagon acknowledges Bremer called for more troops in Iraq
15 minutes ago


WASHINGTON (AFP) - The Pentagon acknowledged that Paul Bremer, the former US occupation chief in Iraq, warned in May 2004 that more US troops were needed to secure Iraq, but it said the US military felt otherwise.

Bremer, in a television interview and a new book, has once again raised questions about the Pentagon's insistence on a small force even as a fierce insurgency took hold in Iraq.

The former diplomat said that almost from the start of his year-long tenure as head of Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq, he repeatedly raised his concerns about the number of US troops on the ground.

Lawrence DiRita, a Pentagon spokesman, confirmed that Bremer sent the Pentagon a memo in May 2004, about a month before he stepped down, arguing that that a significantly larger US force was needed in Iraq. But DiRita said that was the only time Bremer raised his concerns.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060109/pl_afp/usiraqmilitarybremer_060109182306

[Roland99]

1. Ah,he said in May 2004. A year after he said US troops levels would drop.