Troop Extension for Iraq May be Looming Closer

A decision could be issued by Defense Secretary Robert Gates and other officials in the coming days, according to a defense official who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.

U.S. soldier in Iraq Photo: DoD

(SALEM) - MSNBC is reporting that the Pentagon may extend the tour of duty for active-duty Army units in Iraq from 12-months to 15-months. Officials say this can help in managing the conflict there.

On Monday, officials said approximately 13,000 National Guard troops were receiving orders alerting them to prepare for a possible Iraq deployment. For several thousand this will be their second tour.

A decision could be issued by Defense Secretary Robert Gates and other officials in the coming days, according to a defense official who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because no plan is approved yet.

Sources say it is the third option brought forth in recent days in a flow of unsettling information for the U.S. military, struggling in its fifth year of fight wars on multiple fronts.

At this time, there are approximately 145,000 U.S. troops in Iraq, a current build up of forces should lead to 160,000 in country by May.

Reports From Iraq

Salem-News.com Top Stories
Winter Storm and High Wind Warnings Blow into NorthWest

---

Police Say Driving Rampage Ends in Fatal Shots

---

Afghanistan, the Unlearned Lesson

---

Greenscam: Scientific Mass Manipulation in Action

---

Living the Lie: Agent Orange Activist Confronts Monsanto

---

Name:

Enter the text from the image to confirm you are human.(Cookies are required)

HTML tags and certain characters are removed - (numbers, letters only or post may be cut short.) certain words are banned to stop spammers. All comments and messages are approved by people and self promotional links or unacceptable comments are denied.