U.S. Baghdad Commander Fil asks for additional 7,500 troops above 17,000 already committed to surge

WASHINGTON — The U.S. general commanding the security crackdown in Baghdad said Friday that he has asked for reinforcements beyond the 17,000 U.S. combat troops already committed to the Iraqi capital as part of President Bush's emergency build-up.

Army Maj. Gen. Joseph Fil, commanding general of the 1st Cavalry Division based at Fort Hood, told a Pentagon news conference that he has requested additional forces to provide attack helicopters and combat engineers to bolster efforts to regain control of the capital city of 5 million.

Fil's request, if approved, could boost the U.S. buildup planned for Baghdad by more than 7,500 soldiers — or about a 44 percent increase.

"We have requested specific elements — in other words, additional attack helicopters and additional engineers," Fil said, adding that additional logistics troops also would be required.

The final number of reinforcements will be determined by the Pentagon — and possibly by Bush — as part of plans to expand the number of U.S. soldiers in Baghdad.

Commanders also were "looking hard" at bringing another Army division headquarters into the Baghdad region to command security operations in the city's suburbs, Fil said.

Pentagon officials subsequently announced that 1,000 soldiers in the headquarters unit of the 3rd Infantry Division based at Fort Stewart, Ga., will be sent to Baghdad in March — ahead of schedule.

Read the rest at the Houston Chronicle

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