U.S.: 'Surge' troop buildup complete; 150,000 troops in country 'overall' including 20 combat brigades

Above: Soldiers from 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, provide security during a mission in Diyala province on May 21. Although the 'surge' was originally presented as concentrating on Baghdad, with one extra brigade going to Anbar province, some of the combat brigades have been diverted to Diyala to deal with an ever-increasing level of insurgent violence.

Brig. Gen. Perry Wiggins... said that the full complement of the military buildup that President Bush ordered early this year is now in the war zone, with the recent arrival of an Army brigade in Baghdad and a Marine unit heading into the Anbar province in western Iraq...

After nearly five months, at a pace of one additional unit per month, there are now 20 combat brigades in Iraq, up from 15 when the buildup began. A brigade is roughly 3,500 troops. Overall, the Pentagon said Wednesday there are 150,000 U.S. troops in Iraq. That number may still climb as more support troops move in.

Wiggins told Pentagon reporters that the 2nd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, recently arrived in Baghdad and will be fully operational by mid-June and that the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit heading to Anbar will also be ready for battle around the same time.

He said much of the Army force will continue to be concentrated in and around Baghdad but some may be stretched to other areas in the north and south where there have been spikes of violence.

Read the rest at the Guardian

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