Gates: We're Going to Need More Troops

[Tuckerfan]

It seems that a surge of 20K just isn’t enough.

The Pentagon has approved a request by the new U.S. commander in Iraq for an extra 2,200 military police to help deal with an anticipated increase in detainees during the Baghdad security crackdown, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Wednesday.

Gates also cited early indications that the Iraqi government is meeting the commitments it made to bolster security, although he cautioned that it was too early to reach any firm conclusions about the outcome.

“We’re right at the very beginning,” he told a Pentagon news conference. “But I would say that based in terms of whether the Iraqis are meeting the commitments that they’ve made to us in the security arena, I think that our view would be so far, so good.” He was referring to the movement of additional Iraqi troops into the capital.

Gates said that the request for extra MPs is in addition to the 21,500 combat troops that President Bush is sending for the Baghdad security plan and 2,400 other troops designated to support them.

[Gomer Pyle] Surprize, surprize, surprize. [/GP] Given that, well, pretty much anyone who could rub two brain cells together figured that this was going to happen and Shrub & Co. have lied to us in the past about how good a job the Iraqis have been doing, I’m thinking the quagmire’s getting deeper.

[Bryan_Ekers]

Well, 640,000 troops should be enough for any war.

[DanBlather]

@Bryan Ekers

Well, 640,000 troops should be enough for any war.

That was a different Gates.

[Nancarrow]

Yeah, that was the Gates I was thinking of when I first saw the OP.

And I truly didn’t bat an eyelid.

[Derleth]

The Slackware insurgents are living off the land in the central highlands and the NetBSD raiders are using anything that can float to launch flamethrower attacks against our smaller ships in the delta. Ubuntu tribesmen have been able to make serious inroads in and near the major cities with Knoppix and DSL raiders practicing small-unit tactics to soften the ground before them. The HURD has been making noises but their activities have been minimal thus far. We have reason to believe IBM is funding at least some elements of this campaign.
— Status report to Gen. William Gates III, Supreme Commander

[Ludovic]

@Bryan Ekers

Well, 640,000 troops should be enough for any war.

It’s scary that I was going to say the exact same thing.

[Tuckerfan]

@Bryan Ekers

Well, 640,000 troops should be enough for any war.

And if we’d actually have sent that many, we might not be in the mess we’re in now.

[Fear_Itself]

And it is expected to rise even further in the months ahead:

Gates said that the request for extra MPs is in addition to the 21,500 combat troops that President Bush is sending for the Baghdad security plan and 2,400 other troops designated to support them.

Gordon England, the deputy defense secretary, told Congress earlier this week that the number of required support troops could reach 7,000.

“That’s a new requirement by a new commander,” Gates said of the request for more MPs by Gen. David Petraeus, who assumed command in Baghdad last month. He added that there were other troop requests still being considered in the Pentagon; he gave no specifics.

So it will be pushing 30,000 by the end of the year.

[MovieMogul]

We’re also going to need more money:

When Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England appeared before the Senate Budget Committee Thursday, a number of senators expressed skepticism over the Bush administration’s claim that George W. Bush’s escalation of the war in Iraq would cost just $5.6 billion this year. England swore that the number was close to correct…

Things must have really changed on the ground over the weekend. As the Associated Press reports, the administration is now in the “embarrassing” position of having to go back to Congress for an additional $2 billion in Pentagon spending, much of it to help pay for the escalation that the $5.6 billion was already supposed to cover.

[Count_Blucher]

Yes, but how much additional staff and materiale is he planning to allocate to Walter Reed and other VA hospitals to service and support these additional combat troops…?

Unless by pointing out that the VA is not supporting the troops, I must not be supporting the troops. Yosarian, how many more missions again?

[iamthewalrus_3]

Just memorize this line: “I don’t think anyone could have anticipated that we might need more troops than we previously planned.”

[Mighty_Girl]

@Derleth

The Slackware insurgents are living off the land in the central highlands and the NetBSD raiders are using anything that can float to launch flamethrower attacks against our smaller ships in the delta. Ubuntu tribesmen have been able to make serious inroads in and near the major cities with Knoppix and DSL raiders practicing small-unit tactics to soften the ground before them. The HURD has been making noises but their activities have been minimal thus far. We have reason to believe IBM is funding at least some elements of this campaign.
— Status report to Gen. William Gates III, Supreme Commander

That was a thing of beauty!

[BrightNShiny]

@Count Blucher

Unless by pointing out that the VA is not supporting the troops, I must not be supporting the troops. Yosarian, how many more missions again?

Nitpick: Walter Reed is part of the millitary system. The VA is a seperate system - which after a series of reforms in the 90s, apparently is one of the better run government organizations.

[gonzomax]

If Shrub and all his war loving minions honestly believe we are in a fight to save America from those who wish to kill us ,then why only 20 k troops. If the fight is that important then there should be no limit. We should have every able bodied man and woman mobilized. If not ,then 20 k is a horrible joke and he should be impeached.