U.S. to maintain troop level in Iraq

WASHINGTON — The commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East, putting on hold the goal of reducing troops in Iraq, plans to maintain a level of at least 135,000 soldiers deployed there through 2005, Pentagon and military officials announced on Tuesday.

In addition, the commander, Gen. John P. Abizaid, has asked that fresh Army and Marine ground troops rotating into Iraq arrive with a larger percentage of tanks and armored fighting vehicles than had been planned for the rotation, an acknowledgment of the violent prowess of the insurgency.

Troop levels in Iraq were to have fallen to about 115,000 by the end of this month in the official rotation plan announced last year.

The immediate impact of the change in deployment orders is that 10,000 soldiers and Marines will be sent to Iraq this summer in the first installment to replace 20,000 members of the 1st Armored Division and 2nd Light Cavalry Regiment, whose one-year tours were extended by 90 days after guerrilla violence erupted last month in and around Fallujah and Najaf.

The new order for sustained troop levels — and the costs of keeping extra soldiers in Iraq, and for their food, fuel and ammunition — presents a political challenge to the Bush administration this election year as public concern over the war effort mounts, along with casualties in April, the bloodiest month for U.S. forces.

The Pentagon now plans to reprogram money to pay for the unanticipated expenses of maintaining the extra troops in Iraq, although senior members of Congress from both parties have asked whether — and even when — the administration will step forward and propose a supplemental budget bill.

Further complicating planning for Iraq were announcements by several allies, most notably Spain, that they were pulling out their troops, and the absence of promises from other nations to join the mission or increase their commitments.

As the June 30 date for returning sovereignty to a new government in Baghdad approaches, "You're going to have a period of uncertainty from now, and you're also going to have a period of increased attacks," Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said on Tuesday. "I mean, we just have to expect that."

Rumsfeld said that he received a request from Abizaid to retain the current level of U.S. forces in Iraq, which fluctuates between 135,000 and 138,000. "Recently, I approved deployment of approximately 10,000 replacement personnel," he said during a Pentagon news conference. "Other units are now being identified and will be approved in the coming days."