"A U.S. television report said ..Gates wants 20,000 trooops by spring"

[rodeodance]

......
A U.S. television report said Defense Secretary Robert Gates had recommended a buildup of 10,000 U.S. troops in Iraq, with an option of doubling that to 20,000 by spring. The
Pentagon and the White House declined to comment on the report.

One of Maliki's Dawa party allies, member of parliament Ali al-Adeeb, said the crackdown would start "soon," though no date was set. He added that Maliki was still considering Bush's idea for more U.S. troops, made in a telephone call on Thursday.

Bush's Democratic opponents, who took control of Congress last week, question the need to increase troop numbers. More than 3,000 Americans have died in Iraq since the 2003 invasion and many voters favor a rapid withdrawal as U.S. forces find themselves increasingly caught in the sectarian crossfire.

Adeeb said U.S. troops already in Iraq could simply be switched to Baghdad, as happened in a major crackdown by U.S. and Iraqi forces last summer which briefly reduced the killing rate before appearing to run out of steam. A U.S. military spokesman declined to comment on "future operations."..........

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070106/ts_nm/iraq_dc


ANYONE HEAR THIS????

[bluewave]

1. Sounds like perjury to me. He never said this while under oath.

[rodeodance]

2. ...Another 47 bodies, mostly victims of torture and death squads, were found

.......Another 47 bodies, mostly victims of torture and death squads, were found around Baghdad by police in the 24 hours to Friday evening, a typical total. The
United Nations estimated that close to 4,000 civilians died in violence in October.

Senior Shi'ite politicians told Reuters last week that the U.S. and Iraqi force planned a limited offensive against the Mehdi Army militia of Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, blamed by U.S. commanders and many Sunnis for much of the violence.

Sadr, whose supporters played a key role in Maliki's appointment as a compromise prime minister in April, denies any such involvement. Maliki has repeatedly rejected criticism that he has not confronted the Mehdi Army before now, saying the Shi'ite armed groups can be tamed through political dialogue.

The U.S. military urged Maliki last week to reach out to the disaffected Sunni minority after the sectarian tension generated by his decision to rush through the execution of Saddam before the New Year and by an Internet video showing pro-Sadr officials taunting the former president on the gallows.