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General: Troop Increase Needed Through Feb. 2008

HeadlineMar 08, 2007

The day-to-day commander of U.S. troops in Iraq is recommending the Pentagon maintain its increased troop levels for at least another year. The proposal would mean 160,000 U.S. troops in Iraq through February of 2008. The New York Times reports Lieutenant General Raymond Odierno made the confidential assessment to the top U.S. commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus. Petraeus has yet to issue his own recommendation. The news comes as the Pentagon has announced it’s approved a request to send another 2,200 military police to Iraq. The increase comes on top of the 21,500 combat troops and 2,400 support troops ordered by President Bush earlier this year. The Pentagon says it needs the additional military police to handle an anticipated rise in Iraqi prisoners during the crackdown on Baghdad.

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