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Iraq success might be seen early on, Gates says

Published 9:00 pm Friday, January 12, 2007

By The Washington Post

WASHINGTON – President Bush’s new operation to secure Baghdad will begin in earnest with a push by thousands of U.S. and Iraqi troops in the first week of February, and its chances of success should be evident within a few months, Defense Secretary Robert Gates told lawmakers Friday.

If the plan works, the United States could begin drawing down troop levels by the end of the year, Gates said. If the Iraqi government does not deliver troops and political and economic support, he said, the United States could withhold many of the 21,500 additional forces Bush has ordered to secure the most violent parts of Iraq.

Gates and Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, also assured members of the Senate Armed Services Committee that there are no plans to take military operations into Iran, clarifying remarks Bush made Wednesday in announcing the new Iraq package.

“From a military standpoint,” Pace said while responding to questions, there is “no need to cross the Iranian border.”

Gates said a brigade of several thousand Iraqi troops is expected to arrive in Baghdad in about three weeks to beef up security, part of an effort to bring in 8,000 more Iraqi forces to quell sectarian violence. The first additional U.S. brigade is expected to arrive in Baghdad in coming days to support Iraqi forces as they clear and hold neighborhoods throughout the city.

“I think that what’s perhaps the newest part of this is that it really does put the onus on the Iraqis to come through,” Gates said. He later acknowledged that the Iraqi government’s “record of fulfilling the commitments is not an encouraging one” but said that Iraqis “really do seem to be eager to take control of this security situation.”

Gates said it will be easy to tell if Iraqis live up to their end of the bargain, prompting members of the committee to point out that the Iraqi government sent only two of six promised battalions for an operation in Baghdad last summer.

The troop increase in Iraq will require the Army “very soon” to alert a number of National Guard combat brigades that they will have to deploy in about a year – earlier than anticipated – to provide relief for busy active-duty Army units, a senior military official said in a briefing.

The idea of a significant troop increase in Iraq has been championed by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and he said Friday that a small, short troop boost would be the “worst of all worlds” because he believes the U.S. military needs a sustained, robust presence. McCain also accused detractors of not presenting viable alternatives.

“I believe that those who disagree with this new policy should indicate what they would propose to do if we withdraw and Iraq descends into chaos,” McCain said.

U.S. military deaths

Latest identifications reported by the military of U.S. personnel killed in Iraq:

  • Army Maj. Michael L. Mundell, 47, Brandenburg, Ky.; killed Friday in Fallujah when an explosive struck his vehicle; assigned to the 1st Brigade, 108th Division (Institutional Training), Spartanburg, S.C.

  • Army Pfc. Ming Sun, 20, Cathedral City, Calif.; killed Tuesday in Ramadi by small-arms fire; assigned to the 1st Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colo.

  • Army Pfc. Ryan Berg, 19, Sabine Pass, Texas; killed Tuesday in Baqubah by small-arms fire; assigned to the 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.

  • Army Sgt. James Wosika, 24, St. Paul, Minn., died Tuesday in Fallujah of wounds suffered when an explosive detonated near his unit; assigned to the 2nd Combined Arms Battalion, 136th Infantry, Crookston, Minn.

  • Army Spc. Raymond Mitchell, 21, West Memphis, Ark., died Saturday in Baghdad of wounds sustained during security operations; assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, N.Y.

  • Spc. Eric Caldwell, 22, Salisbury, Md., died Sunday in Iraq of wounds sustained from small-arms fire; assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.

  • Marine Sgt. Aron Blum, 22, Tucson, Ariz., died Dec. 28 at Naval Medical Center, San Diego, of a nonhostile cause after being evacuated from Anbar province on Dec. 8; assigned to Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 352, Marine Aircraft Group 11, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Calif.

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