Just One Last Post Before Bed

The Washington Post, among others, reports that military commanders in Iraq are signaling that they need more troops in Iraq in order to take care of the "resistance" in cities.

The possibility that additional troops would be required to battle the insurgency in this critical period preceding the Iraqi elections, scheduled for Jan. 30, has been signaled for weeks. The Pentagon took an initial step in this direction last month, ordering about 6,500 soldiers in Iraq to extend their tours by up to two months.

With some fresh U.S. forces already arriving in Iraq as part of a long-scheduled rotation, and two newly trained Iraqi brigades due to start operating next month, U.S. military leaders had hoped to avoid further increases.

But over the past week, a closer assessment of the forces needed for the Fallujah recovery effort and future offensive operations revealed a gap in desired troop strength, at least over the next two or three months, according to several officers familiar with the issue.

The officers said the exact number of extra troops needed is still being reviewed but estimated it at the equivalent of several battalions, or about 3,000 to 5,000 soldiers. The number of U.S. troops in Iraq fell to nearly 100,000 last spring before rising to 138,000, where it has stayed since the summer.

Wow, what a shocker. I've been saying for a long time that the only way we can win this war is if there is a draft. Sounds dumb, but it's true. Training Iraqi troops takes too long and is very unreliable (a large percent of trained troops and police are working with the rebels). You might say that training Americans would take a long time too. Yes, it probably will, but at least we know whose side they are really on. And before anyone jumps on me, let me just say that I would rather pull out of Iraq now than have a draft. I'm just saying that if you actually want to win this war. . .