Temporary jump in Iraq troops expected in fall

WASHINGTON – The number of U.S. troops in Iraq could jump to 171,000 this fall – a record high for the war – as military leaders expect stepped-up insurgent attacks timed to a progress report from American commanders in Baghdad.

Army Lt. Gen. Carter Ham, director for operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Thursday the planned rotations of five brigades moving out of Iraq and their replacements coming in will create the temporary increase in U.S. forces.

Once the transitions are complete, Ham said, the troop level will drop back down to about 162,000, which is where it is today. He said current plans are to stay at about that number into early next year, unless commanders recommend in their report next month a reduction in forces.

Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, and Ambassador Ryan Crocker are expected to provide a progress report to President Bush and Congress before Sept. 15. They, as well as Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, are likely to testify before Congress on the report and any recommendations on troop levels.

Under fire from Democrats, the White House insisted Thursday that it planned all along for Petraeus and Crocker to testify publicly next month about whether the Iraq troop surge is working.

“I think everyone expects Ambassador Crocker and Gen. Petraeus to offer a very candid assessment of the situation on the ground in Iraq. … I don’t think there will be any constraints in their testimony whatsoever,” said White House national security spokesman Gordon Johndroe.

He was responding to published reports that House and Senate Democrats were angered at suggestions Petraeus and Crocker would only talk to them behind closed doors about their long-awaited Sept. 15 progress report.

Democratic National Committee spokeswoman Karen Finney issued a statement saying the White House “should keep its word and follow the law by allowing open testimony.”

Congress has pressed the administration to begin drawing troops out of Iraq.

In other comments, Ham said the military has seen more incidents in recent months where explosives are placed in homes or buildings in Iraq and set to detonate when troops enter. While it is not a new technique, he said, it exploits a vulnerability that officials are working to counter.

The booby-traps, which he described as small roadside bombs, have “been probably more prevalent in the past weeks and months than we had seen previously.”