Iraq Troop Boost Will Mean Longer Tours

Fort Campbell solider David Peveto says he is very interested in what President Bush has to say about the war in Iraq as he eats breakfast in Fort Campbell, Ky., Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2007. Peveto says he supports additional troops if it is necessary to accomplish the mission. (AP Photo/John Russell) (John Russell - AP)

The Pentagon made no official announcement about its troop-boost plan.

In addition, the 2nd Brigade of the 82nd Airborne, which had not been scheduled to go to Iraq this year, is expected to move into Iraq by mid-January. The brigade's home base is Fort Bragg, N.C.

Some of the additional troops will be placed inside Iraqi army units to accelerate their training. Others will support Iraqi army units that will be expected to do the bulk of the street patrols and other missions to quell Baghdad's sectarian violence.

The increase is to be achieved over a period of months. At its height, the troop total _ now at about 132,000 _ apparently would reach about 153,500, although the Pentagon did not release a timeline for the increases.

That is not appreciably higher than just two months ago when it stood at 152,000. And it is a little less than the 160,000 level of one year ago, in the immediate aftermath of Iraqi elections.

Even so, it marks a major change of direction for a Pentagon which last summer believed it could reduce U.S. troops levels to below 100,000 by now. Instead it built up forces in the summer and fall as sectarian violence escalated.

Kevin Ryan, a retired Army brigadier general at Harvard University's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, said the impact of this troop increase on the overall health of the Army will depend in part on how long it is maintained.

If it is only for a few months, as appeared possible from early indications of Army and Marine Corps planning, then "we won't have long-term damage to the force" from excessive strain, Ryan said in a telephone interview.

In congressional testimony in November, Gen. John Abizaid, the top commander for U.S. forces in the Middle East, said a troop increase of 20,000 could not be sustained for long because the Army and Marine Corps simply are too small.

A White House official who briefed reporters on the plan in advance of Bush's scheduled address to the nation Wednesday evening said the president would mention anew his proposal to increase the size of the Army and Marines.

It was not clear, from information available in advance of Bush's speech, how long the troop increase would be designed to last, but it appeared to be no more than several weeks or perhaps a few months, based on indications that tour extensions would be relatively short.

The Marines plan to extend the tours of two battalions in Anbar Province by 60 days starting in February, one official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. That would achieve a net gain of 4,000 troops because the two battalions would remain after their designated replacements arrived from the United States in February.

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Associated Press writer Lolita Baldor contributed to this report.