Additional Support Troops Join Buildup in Iraq
7,200 Now Slated To Aid Expansion Of Combat Forces

By Ann Scott Tyson and Josh White
Washington Post Staff Writers
Saturday, March 17, 2007

Thousands of additional U.S. military support troops are flowing into Iraq to bolster the increase of 21,500 combat troops ordered by President Bush in January, bringing the total to about 28,700.

The Army announced yesterday that it will accelerate by 45 days the deployment to Iraq of an aviation brigade with more than 2,600 troops. The unit will provide attack aircraft, as well as medical-evacuation and transport helicopters, to assist ground troops.

The 3rd Infantry Division's combat aviation brigade, based at Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, Ga., had already been scheduled to deploy to Iraq this summer but will advance its departure to early May at the request of the top U.S. commander in Iraq, Gen. David H. Petraeus, military officials said.

The latest request brings the total increase in support troops, to accompany the buildup in Iraq, to 7,200 -- including 2,200 military police to strengthen detention operations and 2,400 others, such as medics and troops specializing in military intelligence and logistics.

"For right now, all the requests are in," said a military official in Baghdad.

He and a Pentagon official, both speaking on the condition of anonymity, noted that the course of the war is unpredictable and could lead to more requests in the future.

"General Petraeus is going to make assessments continually and may identify additional capabilities, and those requests will be looked at and fielded as appropriate," the Pentagon official said.

The increase in support troops for Iraq has fueled debate in Washington as congressional Democrats and some Republicans oppose any additional commitment of U.S. troops. Bush did not mention the need for additional support troops when he first laid out his new Iraq strategy in January, and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates later testified before Congress that the support troops required would be fewer than 3,000.

Democrats took the news of the additional troop request as confirmation of their expectations. The Congressional Budget Office had predicted that the 21,500 combat troops that made up Bush's initial troop increase would require tens of thousands more support personnel.

"It's deja vu all over again," quipped House Democratic Caucus Chairman Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.).

With troop increases now approaching 30,000, Democratic leaders may be bolstered as they seek the 218 votes they need to pass war funding legislation that would set a timeline for a withdrawal of U.S. forces. A showdown on the bill is expected on Thursday.

Gates, who traveled to Florida yesterday to attend the formal passing of U.S. Central Command leadership from retiring Gen. John P. Abizaid to Adm. William J. Fallon, told reporters that delays in the supplemental funding could affect the war effort as soon as April.

"Legislation that would involve specific deadlines and strict conditions would make it difficult, if not impossible, for our commanders to achieve their mission," Gates told reporters aboard his flight back to Washington.

After taking office in December, Gates made it clear that he wanted U.S. commanders overseas to feel comfortable in requesting more troops. "What we have done, I hope, is create an environment in which the commanders feel open to requesting what they think they need," he told reporters in January.

Petraeus has said that he will request what he needs to carry out his mission, and that if the forces are not forthcoming, the mission may have to be redefined.

Military officials voiced concern yesterday that although they had anticipated the need for more support troops when the increase in combat forces was proposed, that assessment was not made public. "It was all part of the plan initially, but it didn't get explained well," said the military official in Baghdad.

According to figures provided by the Pentagon yesterday, U.S. troops in Iraq now total 142,000. Once all the additional forces arrive in Iraq -- by early June, Petraeus said -- the total will rise to about 158,000.

The troop increase comes as U.S. commanders in Iraq this month projected that they will have to keep troop levels elevated until the spring of 2008 -- which will require decisions to extend units in Iraq or have others deploy early.

"This reinforces the idea that this is an open-ended commitment and that the president needs to be held accountable, as do the Iraqis," said Stacey Bernards, a spokeswoman for House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.).

Gates said yesterday that the Pentagon and the Iraqi government understand the congressional frustration: "I certainly think that everybody's gotten the message that there's a great deal of impatience to see progress. The Congress doesn't want to see an open-ended commitment here. So if the intent is to send a powerful message, I think the message has been received."

Staff writer Jonathan Weisman contributed to this report.