Date Posted:05:19:02 09/14/06 Thu Author: Rebel Subject: General says he lacks troops
BAGHDAD, Iraq - The commanding general of coalition forces in Iraq's Anbar province said Tuesday that he had enough troops for his mission - training and recruiting Iraqi forces - but not enough to defeat the insurgency.
Marine Maj. Gen. Richard Zilmer spoke in response to a report from a senior Marine intelligence officer, Col. Peter Devlin, that said the political and security situation in Anbar had deteriorated so much that only more aid and another division of troops - about 10,000 to 15,000 - could turn things around. The Washington Post on Monday was the first to report on Devlin's confidential report, which was prepared in August.
The intelligence report and Zilmer's comments were some of the first times that the military has said publicly that more troops would be needed to defeat the insurgency in Anbar, the volatile province in western Iraq that's the heart of the Sunni Muslim-led insurgency.
The Bush administration has said that American commanders in Iraq have never asked for more troops and would get them if they did. Privately, however, many U.S. officers say their troops are stretched too thin, not only in Anbar but also in Baghdad and elsewhere.
"Privately, however, many U.S. officers say their troops are stretched too thin..." -- Pud, 09:13:33 09/14/06 Thu