Commanders in Iraq See 'Surge' Into '08

[bridgit]

'The Pentagon announced yesterday that 35,000 soldiers in 10 Army combat brigades will begin deploying to Iraq in August as replacements, making it possible to sustain the increase of U.S. troops there until at least the end of this year.

U.S. commanders in Iraq are increasingly convinced that heightened troop levels, announced by President Bush in January, will need to last into the spring of 2008. The military has said it would assess in September how well its counterinsurgency strategy, intended to pacify Baghdad and other parts of Iraq, is working.

"The surge needs to go through the beginning of next year for sure," said Lt. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, the day-to-day commander for U.S. military operations in Iraq. The new requirement of up to 15-month tours for active-duty soldiers will allow the troop increase to last until spring, said Odierno, who favors keeping experienced forces in place for now.'

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/08/AR2007050802096_pf.html

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

1. The war in Iraq is now the 2nd costliest in U.S. History.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x856816

[LynnTheDem]

2. So let's use the proper noun.

es kah LAY shun

[MadMaddie]

3. Um in order to have heightened troop levels they are gonna need

troops...the Guard is depleted...

Where will they get the troops? No one wants to talk about it...