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Report: U.S. May Call National Guard for Iraq Duty
Hereâs the divisions.NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Pentagon (news - web sites) could start a call-up of as many as 10,000 U.S. National Guard soldiers by this winter to bolster forces in Iraq (news - web sites) and offset a lack of troops from allies, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday. One senior U.S. defense official, asked by the Journal if he had ever seen the Army stretched so thin, said: "Not in my 31 years" of military service. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is expected to sign off later this week on a plan that would set up rotations to relieve Marine and U.S. Army soldiers stationed in Iraq, the newspaper said, citing a Pentagon official. Twenty-one of the Armyâs 33 active-duty combat brigades are already in Iraq, Afghanistan, South Korea (news - web sites) and the Balkans, the paper said. Three other brigades cannot currently be sent abroad, leaving nine brigades, or 45,000 troops, as relief for deployed soldiers, the report said. Some of those forces are being held back in case they are needed near North Korea (news - web sites) or in Afghanistan, further limiting U.S. options in Iraq, the Journal said. I would turn over the Balkans completely to the Europeans. If they want want them, leave anyway. Posted by: 11A5S 2003-07-17 |
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