Pentagon: Troop levels to reach all-time high of 171,000 as part of rotations

Above: Paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division assume the knee position during a patrol in Al Haymer in July.

The number of U.S. troops in Iraq could jump to 171,000 this fall - a record high for this war - just as military leaders expect stepped-up insurgent attacks timed to a much-anticipated progress report from American commanders in Baghdad.

Army Lt. Gen. Carter Ham, director for operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Thursday that the planned rotations of five brigades moving out of Iraq and their replacements coming in will create the temporary surge in U.S. forces.

Once the transitions are complete, Ham said the troop level will drop back down to about 162,000, which is where it is today. And he said current plans are to stay about at that number into early next year - unless a reduction in forces is recommended by the commanders in their September report.

Read the rest at the News Tribune

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