WASHINGTON — The U.S. military, despite the specter of civil war,
has resolved not to increase its troop level in Iraq.
Officials said American military commanders in Iraq have been assessing
the spike in violence in wake of Al Qaida's bombing of a Shi'ite shrine on
Feb. 22. They said despite the Shi'ite backlash, most of the violence has
stemmed from Sunni groups linked to Al Qaida and Saddam Hussein.
In 2006, the U.S. military has stressed the development of Iraq's police
force. Officials said thousands of Iraqis would be recruited, trained and
equipped for the police over the next few months, Middle East Newsline reported.
"The mission and the focus of what our forces are doing [in Iraq] have
not changed this week from last week or last month," Pentagon spokesman
Bryan Whitman said.
"Our commanders have addressed that issue," Whitman said on March 1.
"The mission remains what it is each and every day."
Officials said the U.S. military has stressed training and mentoring
Iraqi forces in the effort to confront the sectarian violence. They said the
coalition was prepared to remain on standby to provide assistance to Iraqi
authorities.
The specter of civil war has not shelved plans for an assessment of U.S.
troop strength in Iraq. Whitman said a review would be conducted by
Central Command chief Gen. John Abizaid and Multinational Force Iraq
commander Gen. George Casey by the end of March.
A key issue in the review would be the reliability of Iraqi troops.
Officials acknowledged that continued corruption in the Iraqi Defense
Ministry and Interior Ministry has hampered operations and intelligence.
They said this included preparations to protect Shi'ite communities from Al
Qaida strikes.
Officials said police were being recruited for the Anbar province near
the Syrian border, which contains key insurgency strongholds. U.S.-led
coalition spokesman Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch said Anbar would contain 11,330
police by the end of the year. The current police presence in the province
was reported at 3,300.
"There's going to be an active recruiting and training program to outfit
the Al Anbar police with folks from Al Anbar," Lynch said.
At the same time, officials said, the Pentagon would not increase the
U.S. troop presence in Iraq. In late 2005, the Pentagon decided to shelve
plans to deploy two additional U.S. brigades, about 7,000 troops, in Iraq.
About 133,000 U.S. troops have been in Iraq, down from 159,000 in December
2005.
"Any spike in violence is unfortunate and is always concerning," Whitman
said. "But, we tend to look at these things broadly and over time and base
our decisions on trends and what the commanders on the ground feel is an
appropriate balance."
