Report: Analysis of deployments show 'surge' doubling; Combat brigades to reach 98,000; Total troops over 200,000 by December

Soldiers from the 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team and Iraqi police sprint through the open areas during a cordon and search for weapons caches and anti-Iraqi forces in Old Baqubah in April

The Bush administration is quietly on track to nearly double the number of combat troops in Iraq this year, an analysis of Pentagon deployment orders showed Monday.

The little-noticed second surge, designed to reinforce U.S. troops in Iraq, is being executed by sending more combat brigades and extending tours of duty for troops already there.

The actions could boost the number of combat soldiers from 52,500 in early January to as many as 98,000 by the end of this year if the Pentagon overlaps arriving and departing combat brigades.

Separately, when additional support troops are included in this second troop increase, the total number of U.S. troops in Iraq could increase from 162,000 now to more than 200,000 -- a record-high number -- by the end of the year...

Army spokesman Lt. Col. Carl S. Ey said there was no effort by the Army to carry out "a secret surge" beyond the 20 combat brigades ordered by Defense Secretary Robert Gates...

He said that only elements of the eight additional combat brigades beyond the 20 already authorized would actually be in Iraq in December.

Read the rest at the SF Chronicle

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