01 December 2004
U.S. to Increase Troops for Iraq Election Security
Defense Department Report: December 1, 2004
The Pentagon announced December 1 that it will increase the number of U.S. troops in Iraq from 138,000 to about 150,000 to provide security for the elections scheduled to be held there January 30, 2005.
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Richard B. Myers, speaking the day before in Indianapolis, Indiana, said the Iraqi election "is one more step -- but a big step -- to de-legitimatize the insurgents and legitimize the Iraqi government" as it moves toward democracy.
Myers noted that more than 200 parties have already signed up to participate in the election and urged members of all Iraqi ethnic groups to take part. The October 9 elections in Afghanistan in which 10 million people registered and 8 million of them voted, contain lessons that can be applied to Iraq, he said, adding that the Afghan people "get it" and have shown "that democracy was not an alien concept to them."
Myers also said the coalition is working to provide security and protect the Iraqi election process, in part by maintaining pressure on those attempting to undermine the country's transition to democracy.
With the capture of 15 suspected militants December 1, the number of insurgents rounded-up by U.S. Marines and Iraqi security forces in a weeklong offensive in the area south of Baghdad reached 210.
According to military officials, Iraqi, U.S. and British forces have been conducting daily raids throughout southern Baghdad and northern Babil province since November 23 to rid the area of insurgent activity.
Seventeen additional people, including six suspects who attacked a police station but fled when the Iraqi police fought back, were arrested near Mosul November 30 by the multinational forces.
(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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