CNN: Pentagon to announce continuation of 'surge' into 2008

[RamboLiberal]

Source: Raw Story

The Pentagon is expected to announce this morning that 20,000 troops will be rotated into Iraq at the end of this year to extend President Bush's troop "surge" through next spring, CNN reported Tuesday.

"They may have to reach down into the National Guard or Army reserve" to maintain the surge, CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr said, and may extend tours of duty to maintain the surge past the spring of 2008 in what was described as a "worst case scenario."

Military commanders began to expect earlier this year that the surge would have to be extended into next year. In an article that appeared in the Washington Post in May, Lt. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, who manages day-to-day operations in Iraq, said the surge needed to last "through the beginning of next year, for sure." Odierno noted at the time that new regulations extending tours of duty to 15 months would allow for the surge to last through spring 2008.

"These will be the replacement troops on a 15 month tour of duty, as the troops that are there finish up their tours of duty," Starr said on CNN Tuesday. "Reading between the lines, what is interesting here, is these troops will allow the Pentagon to maintain the status quo."



Read more: http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Pentagon_to_announce_massive_continuation_of_0731.html

[classysassy]

1. Without

funds?,I don't want my tax dollar used to continue this bloody war,enough is enough.

[onehandle]

2. Fine. Start drafting Republicans and their offspring for the job.

Chickenhawks Attack!

[FormerDittoHead]

3. Seriously. What's next? Will we "leave it to the generals" to START wars? n/t

[BOSSHOG]

4. Why does bush hate the republican party ??

I bet those that have to seek reelection (unlike bush) aren't too happy about this news. And hey U.S. Senate fuck you too. I'm the decider and I've decided to piss you off.

[stressfulreality]

5. Bush - good job at ruining our armed forces, it's working!

so now when we have REAL THREAT such as China or Russia we'll be uber-fucked!

[bluestateguy]

6. As Colonel Cathcart increased the number of Yossarian's missions

This may very well turn into the longest war in US history.

[Dhalgren]

7. Wow! And all of this is a whole month or more BEFORE

General Betraysus' report to congress. Now, why is he reporting to congress? I mean, what is the supposed purpose of the September report? No one, not the congress and definitely not the people, have any control or even the slightest say-so in regards to our military adventurism. The only way that we can even begin to make a difference is to cut off funding. But even that might not work. The dictator might just force the Army to fight on without funding - I mean who is the Commander in Chief? The Army will do as it's told, I mean, they are Bush's slaves, aren't they?

[Enrique]

8. "we need one more Friedman to get the job done"

[Az_lefty]

9. gee, none of us saw this coming...

Military commanders began to expect earlier this year that the surge would have to be extended into next year... Bullshit, they knew this going in!!! :grr:

[CottonBear]

10. "...some tours scheduled to extend into early 2009. "

From another thread on this topic.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2936287

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Defense Department said on Tuesday another 20,000 Army soldiers and Marines will be sent to Iraq for rotation duty, with some tours scheduled to extend into early 2009.

The new deployment of 17,000 Marines and 3,000 Army soldiers is part of a routine troop rotation separate from U.S. President George W. Bush's surge strategy to stabilize Baghdad with extra forces, said Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman.

Bush's surge boosted the U.S. force level in Iraq to 20 combat brigades in June. But Whitman said the new deployment of three Marine units and one Army unit would maintain an underlying base of 15 brigades that existed before the surge.

All told, the surge has temporarily added 30,000 U.S. troops and brought total U.S. forces to about 159,000.

"These rotations ... are not in any way associated with the current surge," Whitman told reporters.

"These forces have been identified to replace units and forces that would be coming out of Iraq," he said.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070731/us_nm/iraq_usa_troops_dc
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2936287

early 2009 would be the time of the next presidential inagural. :(

[bdamomma]

11. shameful, enough is enough