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We need a draft to win this war now.
Iraq 'surge' may need 7,000 back-up troops
By Demetri Sevastopulo, Alim Remtulla and Edward Luce in,Washington
Published: March 7 2007 02:00 | Last updated: March 7 2007 02:00
US commanders in Iraq may need another 7,000 troops to support the military surge in Iraq, a senior Pentagon official told Congress on Tuesday.
Gordon England, the deputy defence secretary, said the troops would be necessary to support the 21,500 combat troops who are being sent to Iraq to help quell violence in Baghdad and al-Anbar province. Appearing before the House budget committee, Mr England rejected a recent estimate by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office that the surge would require an additional 15,000-28,000 support personnel.
"Our expectation is the number of support troops could go above 21,500 but about 4,000, maybe as many as 7,000, if the commanders on the ground request and they are all validated," said Mr England. "But it will be much lower, in my judgment, than what the CBO estimate is."
Mr England said the additional personnel would add about $1bn to the cost of the surge, which has already started in Baghdad.
The hearings coincided with one of the bloodiest days in Iraq in recent months: 112 Shia pilgrims were killed in sectarian suicide bombs and nine US soldiers died in separate attacks in Baghdad.
Almost 3,200 US soldiers have so far been killed in Iraq and more than 25,000 injured - most of them severely. Iraq Body Count, a group that monitors deaths of Iraqi civilians, estimates conservatively that as many as 63,573 Iraqis have died.
We need a draft to win this war now.
Iraq 'surge' may need 7,000 back-up troops
By Demetri Sevastopulo, Alim Remtulla and Edward Luce in,Washington
Published: March 7 2007 02:00 | Last updated: March 7 2007 02:00
US commanders in Iraq may need another 7,000 troops to support the military surge in Iraq, a senior Pentagon official told Congress on Tuesday.
Gordon England, the deputy defence secretary, said the troops would be necessary to support the 21,500 combat troops who are being sent to Iraq to help quell violence in Baghdad and al-Anbar province. Appearing before the House budget committee, Mr England rejected a recent estimate by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office that the surge would require an additional 15,000-28,000 support personnel.
"Our expectation is the number of support troops could go above 21,500 but about 4,000, maybe as many as 7,000, if the commanders on the ground request and they are all validated," said Mr England. "But it will be much lower, in my judgment, than what the CBO estimate is."
Mr England said the additional personnel would add about $1bn to the cost of the surge, which has already started in Baghdad.
The hearings coincided with one of the bloodiest days in Iraq in recent months: 112 Shia pilgrims were killed in sectarian suicide bombs and nine US soldiers died in separate attacks in Baghdad.
Almost 3,200 US soldiers have so far been killed in Iraq and more than 25,000 injured - most of them severely. Iraq Body Count, a group that monitors deaths of Iraqi civilians, estimates conservatively that as many as 63,573 Iraqis have died.
