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Runaway escalation in Iraq
May 23, 2007 |
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This blog originally appeared on Majikthise
The Bush administration is quietly working to nearly double the number of combat troops in Iraq by the end of the year:
WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration is quietly on track to nearly double the number of combat troops in Iraq this year, an analysis of Pentagon deployment orders showed Monday.
This "second surge" of troops in Iraq, which is being executed by extending tours for brigades already there and by deploying more units, could boost the number of combat troops to as many as 98,000 by the end of this year. When support troops are included, the total number of U.S. troops in Iraq could increase from 162,000 now to more than 200,000 -- the most ever -- by the end of the year.
The efforts to reinforce U.S. troops in Iraq are being carried out without the fanfare that accompanied President Bush's initial troop surge in January. [SPI]I think I just heard Bush refer to General Petraeus as "General Frustraeus" on the radio. Anyone got a link?
Lindsay Beyerstein is a New York-based photojournalist and national correspondent for Raw Story. Her work has appeared in TIME, Salon, AlterNet, and other publications. She blogs at Majikthise.
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