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Gates Ties Iraq Push to Drawdown
Sens. Robert C. Byrd, Edward M. Kennedy, Carl M. Levin and John McCain, from left, confer during an Armed Services Committee hearing in which Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, testified. Gates asserted that Iraqis "really do seem to be eager to take control of this security situation." Pace told the senators there are no plans for a U.S. military move into Iran.
(Carol T. Powers - Bloomberg News)
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Gates also said there are no plans for a long-term U.S. presence: "We don't want permanent bases in Iraq."
Senators questioned Gates and Pace about Bush's vow on Wednesday to stop Iran and Syria from supporting violence in Iraq. In his televised prime-time speech, the president promised to "interrupt the flow of support from Iran and Syria. And we will seek out and destroy the networks providing advanced weaponry and training to our enemies in Iraq."
Pace said the military will conduct those efforts within Iraq; they include two recent raids in northern Iraq that resulted in the capture of several Iranians. A State Department spokesman said yesterday that coalition forces raided a facility in Irbil because of information linking it to Iran's Revolutionary Guard. Contrary to the assertions of Iraqi officials, the site "was not a diplomatic facility; it did not have the standing of a consulate," State Department spokesman Tom Casey said.
The raids were authorized under an order that Bush issued several months ago, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told the New York Times yesterday. Rice was vague about when the president issued the order, the Times reported, but she said it allows the U.S. military to target Iranian "networks" in Iraq.
White House press secretary Tony Snow yesterday addressed what he called the "urban legend" of pending U.S. action against Iran and Syria. He told reporters that there is no intent to go to war with either country, and that the administration is committed to diplomatic efforts to stop Iran's nuclear program.
The idea of a significant troop increase in Iraq has been championed by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), and he said yesterday that a small, short troop boost would be the "worst of all worlds" because he believes the U.S. military needs a sustained, robust presence. McCain also accused detractors of not presenting viable alternatives.
"I believe that those who disagree with this new policy should indicate what they would propose to do if we withdraw and Iraq descends into chaos," McCain said.
The troop increase in Iraq will require the Army "very soon" to alert a number of National Guard combat brigades that they will have to deploy in about a year -- earlier than anticipated -- to provide relief for busy active-duty Army units, a senior military official told reporters.
With more troops comes a need for more equipment, requiring the Army to use two brigades' worth of pre-positioned stocks of tanks, Humvees and other gear in Kuwait that it had built up after depleting the stocks for the invasion of Iraq in March 2003.
"We're having to redistribute equipment right now," the official said. The Army plans to build as many as six new combat brigades under a plan unveiled by Gates to expand the service by 7,000 active-duty soldiers a year, to a total of 547,000.
