Abizaid has requested more forces

United Press International ^ | 4/9/2004 5:44 PM | Pamela Hess, UPI Pentagon Correspondent

[68skylark]

WASHINGTON, April 9 (UPI) -- U.S. Central Command chief Gen. John Abizaid has requested more forces for Iraq and was discussing plans Friday with U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, a senior defense official confirmed.

Abizaid told reporters in Iraq he wanted several thousand more troops, and indicated they may come from the 3rd Infantry Division, which only returned from its last Iraq deployment six months ago.

Pentagon officials said it was unlikely the 3rd ID would be called up so quickly.

The senior defense official said Abizaid's request was too specific for a warfighting commander to make. The forces Abizaid gets will be decided on by the Joint Staff in Washington. He is supposed to limit his requests to capabilities and Washington decides, based on scheduling and skills and equipment, how to fill those requirements.

Rumsfeld promised this week if Abizaid wanted more forces he would get them.

Whatever the military requirement, adding troops to the force in Iraq carries with it a poltical price. More than a year ago, then Army Chief of Staff Gen. Eric Shinseki told Congress the occupation of Iraq would require "several hundred thousand" troops. Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz called that estimate "wildly off the mark." The Pentagon leaked the name of Shinseki's replacement months before his scheduled retirement, rendering him a lame duck.

In his farewell speech at his retirement ceremony last year, Shinseki warned the Army was being over-committed.

"Beware the 12-division strategy for a 10-division Army," he said. "Our soldiers and families bear the risk and the hardship of carrying a mission load that exceeds what force capabilities we can sustain, so we must alleviate risk and hardship by our willingness to resource the mission requirements."

As Shinseki predicted, the Army is very heavily tapped. Between Iraq and Afghanistan, nine of its 10 divisions are either on deployment or have recently been relieved by other forces and are due for rest and retraining.

The U.S Marine Corps has tapped roughly 70,000 Marines for duty in Iraq next year alone. The senior defense official said Marines are likely to be called on to fill in the ranks because of the strain on the Army.

Abizaid asked his staff for options in Iraq earlier this week as violence in the country increased, sparked by a rebellious Shiite cleric and insurgent attacks on coalition forces. More than 200 U.S. personnel have been injured in combat in the last 24 hours, according to Defense Department statistics

Some fraction of the 1st Armored Division, due to rotate out of Iraq by May, could be forced to stay for another three months, Pentagon officials said. One officer with the division in Baghdad has already had his redeployment orders slowed, he told United Press International.

There are now 135,000 U.S. personnel in Iraq, some of who are overlapping as new forces rotate in to relieve others. The number of troops was supposed to drop to 105,000 by June. However, with increased violence and the potential for more as the June 30 hand over deadline nears, that target may be unrealistic.

Fighting in the last week has claimed at least 40 American soldiers and Marines. U.S. Central Command said Friday two soldiers and three Marines were killed April 8 and April 9. One soldier from the 13th Corps Support Command was killed and 12 injured in an attack on their convoy near Baghdad International Airport Friday. Also Friday, one 1st Cavalry Division soldier was killed and another wounded when they were ambushed as they responded to a mortar attack near their base.

Three Marines were killed April 8 in the restive Al Anbar province, the region that encompasses Falujah and Ramadi, where insurgents have stepped up operations.

There have been at least 458 U.S. forces killed in action Iraq as of Friday. A total of 3,269 have been wounded in combat since the war began more than a year ago.

[68skylark]

Interesting. If I had to guess, I think we'll be seeing more Guard and Reserve callups soon.

[traumer]

also "Marines Move Third Battalion to Fallujah"

[Pukin Dog]

The article is completly untrue. Abizaid has NOT called for more troops. He said only yesterday that more troops were not needed.

[GraniteStateConservative]

My childhood best friend is in 1st AD. He was just told about the extra months (rather than getting back home this month). He's unhappy about it and so are his family. I'm sure that's common. I'm sure the guard and reserves are upset at how much they are being used when they signed up thinking they would be used less than people in the army, etc. None of this could be good for morale. Maybe the military won't be such a Bush slam dunk vote as they were in 2000. Certainly the families might be less supportive of Bush than in 2000.

[68skylark]

Well I don't have a lot of strong feelings about this one way or the other -- I'm confident that Gen. Abizaid will get as many troops as he wants. We do know that soldiers from the 1st Armored Division got a letter from their commanding general, saying that some of them may have their tours extended by 90 days. So it seems possible that Gen. Abizaid really is looking to increase his troop strength above what it was previously planned to be.

[Yasotay]

The number of new divisions created since 9-11?

ZERO

Time to field a division?

ONE YEAR

Rumsfeld has been wrong on many issues, not expanding the Army is just one. Rumsfeld is gambling poorly with US national security. We needed a draft two years ago, trying to wait until after the election is also a poor gamble.

[68skylark]

I'm sure the guard and reserves are upset at how much they are being used when they signed up thinking they would be used less than people in the army, etc.

Well, let's hold on a minute. I'm a guardsman. And I know quite a few others. The ones I know (including myself) are eager to get into this fight. Anyone who doesn't want to get to the battle probably shouldn't be in the armed forces. So I'm not sure what basis you have for saying "I'm sure the guard and reserves are upset at how much they are being used." You feel guardsmen are shirkers?

[GraniteStateConservative]

"On Thursday, Gen. John Abizaid, head of U.S. Central Command, said he wanted to increase his combat power in Iraq by 10,000 troops. By preventing the 1st Armored from rotating home, he would accomplish that because it would supplement forces that recently arrived to take its place."

That's calling for more troops and it's calling for them in a way that is politically expedient for the WH-- which is the preference of Rove. It's stretching the troops thin and risking morale for political gain. All because they are dead set against bringing in fresher troops because they don't want to talk about it on the talking head shows.

[GraniteStateConservative]

I'm talking about those who are already in the field being asked to do more service than they would be expected to do. Longer terms, shorter breaks. That's not shirking a responsibility. They signed up with the understanding that their committment was lesser than people in the army, for example. They are being used in much the same way as the army and they and their families don't understand why they were mislead. The reason for it is that we have drawn down our active military and for political reasons-- the headcount number is always an easy stat in news stories. I applaud your service and am not suggesting any trait that would be unadmirable.

[68skylark]

We needed a draft two years ago, trying to wait until after the election is also a poor gamble.

I just cannot fathom the thinking of people who want a draft. Our professional, all-volunteer armed forces are by far the best in the world. A draft would be a catastrophe. Thank heaven our top military leadership is smart enough to not mess with success.

I don't have real strong feelings about a 10 vs. 12 division Army, as long as the expansion isn't a attempt to take and mission away from the Guard.

[SevenDaysInMay]

The rabid pathologies of islam are showcased in Iraq and the Pallies' trenches.

Iran is footing the bill. Hell on earth is better than being exposed to infedels trying their best and sacrificing our best so that muslims won't have to live and die as slaves to some murderous bully al-tyrant, with or without al-Rape Rooms and killing fields.

It is no wonder that muslims have been dusty slaves to their gilded masters for centuries.

This death cult is commanded to stoke their declared war crimes Terror War by their claimed holy scriptures.

[68skylark]

I think I see your point, and it's nice you to be concerned about reservists and their families.

I cannot swear to the mindset of most of those who joined the Guard and reserve. For me, I joined with the understanding that I could be called when the country has a need -- just as Guardsmen have been called on since the 1600's. I was in the Guard back in the bad old days when the Guard was starved for a mission, starved for funds, and starved for respect. If an expansion of the active duty force is just a way to take money and missions from the Guard without good reason, I'm vigorously against it.

[Pukin Dog]

There is not going to be a draft. People thinking such things need to get that out of their heads, because it will not happen. Rumsfeld has not been wrong on a single issue, especially when it comes to the Army, which is finally going to take on a posture similar to the Marines. The current Army carries too much dead (non-fighting) weight, and is too immobile, unable to fight a asymmetric war effectively.

[SevenDaysInMay]

The rabid may well be recruiting many more jihadies from the Iranian and Iraqi pilgrims now at the shrines this week.

What are our troops supposed to do against a "peace march" (armed) of hundreds of thousands "civilians" storming our lines?

[68skylark]

I agree 100%.

Most of the people who really want to talk about the draft are the libs. They're alarmed to be losing the support of kids in high school and college -- they think they can scare those kids back into the liberal camp with talk of a draft. Not going to happen -- a draft isn't going to happen, and talk of a draft isn't going to get kids alarmed becasue I think they're made of a little tougher stuff than the 60's generation.

[plumcrazy]

"I just cannot fathom the thinking of people who want a draft". . .

Agreed. Military can recruit much larger volunteer force than presently authorized. Size of military during Gulf War I was much larger than present authorized strength. All volunteer.

[SkyPilot]

The whole article is fact-challenged and a UPI hit piece.

[Bombard]

Have you ever been in the military??? Yes you bitch but that is all part of being in the armed forces. My father in law was in the USN during WW 2. He left his wife and son in 1942 and did not see them again until late 1945. Extension by a month or more is a small price to pay. Besides no one held a gun to his head when your friend enlisted. I think you sell the people in the military and their families short. They will vote for the presiedent in 2004 just as they did in 2000. Kerry is seen for what he is by the people who defend this country, weak on defense. BUSH 2004!!!!!!

[68skylark]

Well I think GraniteStateConservative has his heart in the right place. But I also agree that the tours we're seeing in Iraq are not a large hardship compared to Guard and Reserve deployments in past conflicts. And I also suspect that the whole U. S. military (active, guard, reserve, etc) and their families will be big Bush supporters in 2004.

[Jim Noble]

Rumsfeld has been wrong on many issues, not expanding the Army is just one. Rumsfeld is gambling poorly with US national security. We needed a draft two years ago

You and I are in the minority here, but I agree.

President Bush could have had anything he asked Congress for on 9/16/01.

I don't think he asked for enough. Rummy is a genius, but he failed to visualize world war, and he was afraid that expanding the Army would have jeopardized his dream, long-deferred, of military transformation (and he was correct, he would have not been able to create his dream force structure if we had instituted a draft and added 25 divisions, all his time-serving bureaucratic enemies would have been promoted and rewarded instead of retired).

The only problem is, it is a world war we're fighting.