Washington – A first wave of additional U.S. troops will go into Iraq before the end of the month under President Bush’s new plan, a senior defense official said today.
Up to 20,000 troops will be put on alert and prepared to deploy under the president’s plan, but the increase in forces on the ground will be gradual, said the official, who requested anonymity because the plans have not yet been announced.
Moving first would be the 2nd Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division, which is in Kuwait and poised to move quickly into Iraq.
Details of the plan were emerging a day before Bush was to address the nation on his broad initiative to shore up the fragile country, and they came as members of Congress kept up vocal opposition to any major escalation in the nearly four-year-old war.
Carl Levin, a Michigan Democrat who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee, said he expects Bush to announce that up to 20,000 additional troops will be sent to Iraq but not to say how long the extra forces will be there.
Levin, who spoke to reporters a day after meeting with White House national security adviser Stephen Hadley, said he believes Bush will signal that the overall U.S. commitment in Iraq is not open-ended.
