New Iraq pressure on Bush

2007-12-09 21:43

Washington - As security improves in Iraq, pressure is building to reverse one of the most onerous decisions US Defence Secretary Robert Gates made to enable President George W Bush's troop build-up to go forward this year: extending the tours of active-duty soldiers from 12 months to 15 months.

The extra three months is a weighty burden, both physically and psychologically, for soldiers already stressed by multiple tours and on families coping with tension that has increased since the war began in 2003.

"We can't sustain that," General George Casey, who was the top US commander in Iraq before becoming the Army chief of staff at the Pentagon in April, said recently.

"We have to come off that." A decision on cutting tour lengths could be announced in three or four months.

Stability still in doubt

Army leaders are pushing to shorten tour lengths back to 12 months by summer, when Bush's troop build-up is scheduled to end.

Senior commanders in Baghdad, however, appear reluctant to commit to a change until perhaps late next year, fearing that Iraqi stability still will be in doubt until that point.

The outcome depends in large part on what Bush decides to do next spring after hearing an updated assessment of Iraq from his top commander in the country, Gen David Petraeus. At hand then will be a decision on whether to continue cutting US troop levels beyond July. If no further cuts are made, it will be much harder for the Army to back away from the 15-month tours.

There are now 166 000 US troops in Iraq, about 30 000 more than when Bush announced his build-up in January.

By July, that is supposed to be decreased to about 135 000.

- AP