US extends soldiers' Iraq duties
(BBC)
Updated: 2004-11-02 16:41

Pentagon officials have confirmed they have ordered several thousand US troops to extend their tours of duty in Iraq for two months.

The move is being made in order to boost troop numbers and capabilities ahead of Iraqi elections in January.

The news comes as US-led forces prepare for a possible offensive to retake the Iraqi insurgent stronghold of Falluja.

In all, some 6,500 troops who were due to have returned before the Iraqi polls in January are affected by this move.

They are 3,500 troops from the 2nd Brigade of the 1st Cavalry Division and 3,000 personnel from the headquarters unit from the 1st Infantry Division.

They will now have to stay between 30 and 60 days more.

One of their replacement units - the headquarters unit for the 42nd Infantry Division - is being delayed, so the net effect will be to increase troop numbers by a relatively modest 3,500.

Battle-hardened units

Keeping troops in a combat zone longer than originally planned is never popular with the soldiers themselves.

But Pentagon officials say these units were chosen in part because they were originally slated for tours of only 10 months, so extending them will not break the 12-month limit the Pentagon has been aiming at for the maximum length of missions in Iraq.

The insurgency has put paid to hopes of reducing troop numbers

But the key motivation, according to Pentagon officials, is to keep experienced units in the country during what will be a critical period.

According to the latest official Pentagon figures, there are currently about 134,000 US troops in Iraq, as well as about 25,000 other coalition forces.

With the normal troop rotations that are going on, which allow for some overlap of forces, Pentagon officials are suggesting that there may be up to 142,000 US troops in Iraq come January.

Looming showdowns

The Pentagon could add further reinforcements, but it is still hoping it will be able to turn to increasing numbers of Iraqi forces.

The other key indicator of security concerns - apart from overall reinforcements - is where the US-led forces already within the country are being deployed.

And US commanders have been concentrating forces in critical areas like around the insurgent strongholds of Ramadi and Falluja, with military showdowns there now looking increasingly likely.

That, of course, has been helped by the redeployment north of the 850 personnel of the British Army's Black Watch battle group, which has released a similar number of US Marines for other duties elsewhere.

Sophisticated insurgency

This is all a far cry from the Pentagon planners' hopes at the beginning of the year.

Then, the talk was of possibly reducing troop numbers by the middle of the year to between 105,000 and 115,000.

The flare-ups in Falluja and among the Shia supporters of Moqtada Sadr in April put paid to that.

And Pentagon officials now concede that the insurgency has become both more widespread and sophisticated than they had anticipated.

From US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld down, these officials now say they expect the violence in Iraq is likely to get worse as the planned election approaches.

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