[A-List] Iraq: the quagmire deepens

["Michael Keaney" <michael.keaney@xxxxxx>]

2 U.S. Soldiers Die in Iraq Attacks; Pole Is Also Killed
By TERENCE NEILAN
New York Times: November 6, 2003

An American soldier was killed by a land mine early today on the Iraq-Syria
border, a part of Iraq where attacks have been far less frequent than in
areas like the so-called Sunni Triangle close to Baghdad.

Another United States soldier was killed and two were wounded at about 8
p.m. on Wednesday night Iraqi time in an ambush of a patrol in Mahmudiya, a
city about 40 miles south of the Iraqi capital, military officials said
today.

In addition, a Polish soldier died today after being shot by unknown
assailants near Mussayib, south of Baghdad. He was his country's first
fatality since Poland took command of a multinational force running one of
four stabilization zones in the country.

A United States Central Command official said today that land mines had not
been used in the most recent attacks on coalition forces, with insurgents
tending to use roadside bombs, known as improvised explosive devices,
rockets of small arms.

Referring to the attack near the Syrian border, a coalition provisional
authority spokeswoman said by telephone from Baghdad that "attacks in this
region are nowhere near as numerous as they are in other regions."

There are "between 26 and 30 attacks on coalition forces daily here in
Iraq," she said, but the coalition does not release information unless
fatalities are involved.
She added that even random attacks that resulted in soldiers being wounded
"do not generally fall within that part of the country." The majority fall
within the Sunni Triangle, home of hardcore Saddam Hussein supporters, or in
the northern region.

She also agreed that land-mine attacks were less frequent, and certainly
near the border with Syria.

That attack today killed a soldier from the First Squadron, Third Cavalry
Regiment, attached to the 82nd Airborne Division. He died when a military
truck struck a land mine while traveling along the border near Husayba,
Central Command said in a statement.

The attack on Wednesday night happened when a patrol was ambushed by
rocket-propelled grenades and small-arms fire near Mahmudiya, Central
Command said.

The coalition spokeswoman did not have any information on either the numbers
of soldiers or insurgents involved.

The soldier who died in the ambush was from the Third Battalion, 505th
Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division. The two wounded
soldiers were evacuated to a military hospital. No other details, including
identification, were released.

Attacks of this kind have been happening with increasing frequency over the
past month or two.

The most recent fatalities brought to 382 the number of American soldiers
who have died in accidents or hostile fire since the United States-led
coalition invaded Iraq on March 19.

Poland took charge in September of a 23-nation force responsible for
security in south-central Iraq. It has deployed over 2,000 troops toward the
force, which numbers nearly 10,000 in total.

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43,000 Alerted for Duty in Iraq
By ERIC SCHMITT and THOM SHANKER
New York Times: November 6, 2003

WASHINGTON, Nov. 5 - The Pentagon began alerting 43,000 Reserve and National
Guard troops late Wednesday for the possibility of yearlong duty in Iraq or
Kuwait as part of a force-rotation plan that would reduce the overall
American military presence in Iraq by next spring, senior Pentagon officials
said.

The alert warnings and deployment orders approved by Defense Secretary
Donald H. Rumsfeld on Wednesday reflected concern by Pentagon officials and
the administration over stresses that large mobilizations have placed on
reservists and their families. These, in turn, have prompted complaints in
Congress.

The orders were drafted to give the troops maximum warning about their
possible duty and to ensure that the bulk of them had not already been
called up since Sept. 11, 2001, senior Pentagon officials said.

The plan would draw down total American forces in Iraq to about 105,000
troops from 130,000 in the midst of next year's presidential election
campaign.

The Pentagon's chief spokesman, Lawrence Di Rita, rejected any assertion
that politics played a role in the planning, saying that such considerations
were "an utter nonfactor" in the decision.

Pentagon planners have sought to limit additional call-ups of National Guard
and Reserve forces beyond combat units identified months ago, but ultimately
realized that, at the very least, logistics units would be required in the
next rotation.

Military planners say the United States could deploy a slightly smaller but
still sizable force in Iraq by tailoring the replacement troops to the
mission now facing the American-led occupation. For example, they said, the
plan calls for swapping tank-heavy armored divisions for units that put more
foot soldiers in Iraq. The proposal also takes account of plans to
accelerate the training and fielding of Iraq's own security forces to more
than 200,000 personnel next year.

The administration has failed to win new commitments of foreign troops for
Iraq beyond the two multinational divisions serving there. Mr. Rumsfeld is
ordering two brigades, or about 20,000 active-duty marines, from the First
Marine Division at Camp Pendleton, Calif., to help fill the gap left by
departing Army forces. It will be the first time since the Vietnam War that
large numbers of marines, traditionally an expeditionary force, will serve
long-term duty for a military operation.

Joining that marine force will be one brigade, or about 7,000 soldiers, from
the Army's 25th Infantry Division, based in Hawaii.

The first official announcement of the alert and deployment order came at a
hearing of the House Armed Services Committee on Wednesday. "We will be
talking to Congress this afternoon and issuing orders tonight," said Gen.
Peter Pace, the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. "It does include
a call-up of reserves, it does include land forces, it does include the Navy
and the Air Force with their capabilities to participate."

On Wednesday, the total of National Guard and Reserve members called to
active duty worldwide stood at 154,603. About 60,000 of those are now
serving in Iraq or Kuwait.

For rotation next year, the Pentagon had already activated 15,000 troops
from the National Guards of Arkansas, Washington State and North Carolina.
Likewise, Army officials previously announced that active-duty troops from
the First Cavalry Division and the First Infantry Division would rotate into
Iraq.

The Reserve alert order, a multipage manifest that went through many changes
even in the last few days, puts 397 units on notice in most of the 50
states. Some units will see large numbers of their personnel put on alert,
while others may receive only a handful of new orders, including one unit
being tapped just for two chaplains.

Of the 43,000 whose units are being alerted, more than 37,000 are Army
Reserve and National Guard troops. The remainder are Marine reservists. In
addition, the Pentagon is telling about 2,000 Air Force personnel and about
1,000 Navy personnel they could be going to Iraq or Kuwait.

To fulfill the requirement of serving a full year on the ground, those
troops actually mobilized may serve up to 18 months, including training and
leave.

Military officials said that they were conscious of the approaching holiday
season and that they expected units would not actually be sent to Iraq until
after Jan. 1, but the decision was made to send out the alert order now so
the reservists could begin their planning for active duty.

Officials also said on Wednesday that Mr. Rumsfeld will almost certainly
alert as many 10,000 additional Reserve and National Guard troops in the
next few weeks.

Pentagon officials added that the ultimate size of the American force in
Iraq will depend on the number of other foreign troops available next
spring, on the size and effectiveness of Iraq's new military forces, and on
the security situation on the ground. Because of those considerations,
military officers said, not all of the reservists alerted Wednesday will
necessarily be mobilized for duty.

"It's not just an issue of numbers," a senior Pentagon official said.
Instead, officials said, the American replacement forces are being tailored
more precisely for the stabilization mission, and could be altered if the
security situation shows improvements by next spring.

Despite a new United Nations resolution authorizing the American-led
occupation, there have been no new significant allied troop contributions.
South Korea and Turkey are both considering sending troops, but both
decisions are shackled by domestic political considerations and, in the case
of Turkey, apprehension on the part of members of the American-appointed
Iraqi Governing Council.