Iraq 16 March 2007 - 1st report

The Decider's surge is really a major escalation. Now the U.S. air war in Iraq is being escalated.


Report: General requests more troops

Associated Press

Thu Mar 15, 11:59 PM ET

The commander of U.S. forces in Iraq has asked for an additional 2,500 to 3,000 troops to be sent to Iraq as part of the Bush administration's military buildup to crack down on rising sectarian violence and insurgents, The Boston Globe reported.

Gen. David Petraeus wants another Army combat aviation unit — which would be the sixth Army brigade involved in the buildup — deployed to support the more than 26,000 soldiers already on their way to Iraq under the plan opposed by many Democrats in Congress, the Globe said in a report posted on its Web site Thursday night. The report quoted unidentified senior Pentagon officials.

The request has not yet been made public, according to the report, which quoted one official as saying the extra troops, to be backed by dozens of transport helicopters and powerful gunships, were needed to assist those on the ground now and those expected in Iraq shortly.

~~~cont'd~~~

And of course the rush to war with Iran continues:

4 U.S. soldiers die in Baghdad bombing

Associated Press



By KIM GAMEL, Associated Press WriterThu Mar 15, 11:12 PM ET

Four U.S. soldiers were killed Thursday in a roadside bombing in mainly Shiite eastern Baghdad and the military said it found a sophisticated weapon at the site of the type that Washington believes is being supplied by Iran to Shiite militias.