Oct 30, 2006 10:32 pm
U.S. Commander To Suggest More Iraqi Troops(CBS News) WASHINGTON President Bush's National Security Adviser showed up unannounced in Baghdad Monday to meet with Iraq's Prime Minister al-Maliki -- who, according to U.S. intelligence, is telling his inner circle the situation is "nearly out of control," CBS News correspondent David Martin reports.
CBS News has learned exclusively that Gen. George Casey, the U.S. Commander in Iraq, is expected to recommend the size of Iraqi security forces be increased by up to 100,000. This comes just as the U.S. military is about to reach its long-stated goal of training and equipping 325,000 Iraqis to take over the fighting from American troops.
Officials say the explosion of sectarian violence, which Gen. Casey calls a fundamental change in the nature of the threat, now makes that number look inadequate. On top of that is the fact that any given day, one quarter of the Iraqi Army is on leave.
Increasing the size of the Iraqi security forces would also mean more American soldiers would be needed to train and advise them. The United States is also considering doubling from 12 to 25 the number of American advisers embedded in each Iraqi unit.
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Our Soldiers Are Dying To Win In Iraq
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