posted on Apr, 6 2004 @ 03:20 PM
US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld stated that U.S. forces in Iraq could
receive additional support in the way of more troops if the theater commanders requested it. Currently there are 135,000 U.S. troops in Iraq, "an
unusually high level", Rumsfeld said. The U.S. was currently in the middle of a rotation, and there is an overlapping time after the new forces come
in before the older troops will leave. Rumsfeld also said that the generals in Iraq would have all the forces and supplies that they requested.
Herald Sun News
AMERICAN military commanders in Iraq would get additional troops if they requested more soldiers to fight a growing Shi'ite uprising, US Defence
Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said today.
Commanders are studying ways they might increase troops in Iraq should violence spread much more widely, a senior officer said yesterday. Generals
believe they have enough forces to handle the attacks that have been coming from various quarters, including the recent violence by a shi'ite militia
group. But they want to know what is available if the situation gets worse, said the officer.
The forces in Iraq are down from their peak of 151,000 forces last year, but the number of troops in Iraq is more than capable of dealing with any
resistance al-Sadr's Mahdi army. There are also about 12,000 non-U.S. troops from other supporting countries in the country as well.
[Edited on 7-4-2004 by dbates]