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THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE ACCOUNTABILITY OF AMERICAN BASES (CAAB) |
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THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE ACCOUNTABILITY OF AMERICAN BASES (CAAB) |
Pentagon readies fresh troops for Iraq as Bush request falls flat
The Iraq call-up orders came as US officials continued to say there are no deadlines regarding a return of Iraqi self-rule, and as the White House faces congressional opposition to its 87 billion dollar request for Iraqi aid.
The Pentagon announced Friday that it had mobilized two US Army National Guard brigades of 10,000 soldiers for deployment to Iraq, just days after Bush held talks with UN General Assembly members in the hope they would commit troops to Iraq instead.
US hopes that Turkey, South Korea, India and Pakistan would offer troops to support the US military presence in Iraq have so far fallen flat, forcing the Pentagon to call up more American soldiers for deployment to the war-torn country.
Despite this Bush insisted Saturday that he remains "pleased" with the level of international support the US is getting in Iraq.
"I recognize that some countries are inhibited from participation because of the lack of a UN resolution. We are working to get a satisfactory resolution out of the United Nations. We spent some time talking about that today," Bush told reporters following his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
US officials have said the troops are to remain in Iraq until the country's sovereignty is returned.
Domestic US criticism of the deployments however continues to mount.
National Guard and reservists' families are running several campaigns calling for the return of their family members serving in Iraq. One such campaign, www.129bringthemhome.com, had gathered 11,182 signatures Saturday, up from 10,038 signatures Tuesday.
Army families are also disgruntled that the Pentagon has lengthened the deployment times of National Guard and reserve troops already serving in Iraq to up to one year.
In a bid to boost morale, the Pentagon has granted two weeks of home leave from Iraq duty to an initial batch of troops in the first large-scale leave program since the Vietnam war.
Meanwhile the US administrator of Iraq, Paul Bremer, is working hard to establish a Iraqi constitution and free elections.
The White House has said sovereignty will not be handed back to the Iraqis until a constitution has been inked and elections held.
"We don't know how long it will take for them to write the constitution. Six months seems to me a reasonable guess as to how long it will take, but there are no deadlines," Bremer told reporters in Washington Friday.
Bremer's position appeared to back away from comments by US Secretary of State Colin Powell, published in the New York Times Friday, proposing a six-month target for the Iraq constitution.
France and Germany have pushed the US to restore Iraq's sovereignty as soon as possible.
Bremer also stressed that US taxpayers will not foot the bill for running and rebuilding Iraq over the next five years. He also said some reconstruction tasks may be postponed due to a lack of money.
The Bush administration hopes financial pledges from foreign donors will be forthcoming at an international donors conference on Iraq scheduled for October 23-24 in Madrid.
The 30th Infantry Brigade from North Carolina and the 39th Infantry Brigade from Arkansas will be mobilized October 1 and October 12, respectively, for deployment to Iraq, according to the Defense Department.
About 118,000 US soldiers and 10,000 British troops are currently deployed in Iraq. Poland directs a multinational division of 9,000 solidiers in the country.
US troops have borne the brunt of guerrilla-style attacks in Iraq that have taken the lives of some 83 American soldiers since Bush declared an end to major combat operations in Iraq May 1.