Troop levels in Iraq

Chris V. from Historical Methods sends in these comments:

Ah, the country of Iraq, how our country defends and tries to bring democracy to thee. It’s a bunch of poppycock if you ask me in the sense that we are there “policing” the country and yet we always end up in battles with losses of yet more soldiers, groups of young men being sent off to die or in some cases unexpectedly in ambushes that not even a psychic can see forthcoming. President Bush rolled the dice in a crapshoot and even though he got snake-eyes he decided to keep on gambling with the notion of trying to bring democracy to Iraq; and most of the people don’t seem to want it. Now that elections are supposedly taking place in Iraq, Bush and the major military leaders have decided to send yet more troops to Iraq for “security reasons”. I read this shocking information today in the Herald News newspaper and I can do nothing but shake my head. More than 12,000 fresh troops will go to Iraq in order to aid our brave yet weary soldiers that already served. This is sheer nonsense, if the people of Iraq don’t want democracy and elections and will forever try to fight our troops to the last man, than what we are there for is for nothing. Suppose that the elections do take place but what will happen when we leave? Will these radical Iraq men stand for this and not try to start a revolt and take over the country and just put it back to where it was before we got there, it is a distinct possibility. At least one critic of the war Senator Jack Reed a Democrat out of Rhode Island claims that “This announcement makes it clear that commanders in Iraq need more troops and that this will be a long and very expensive for the United States.” He also mentions that “it is still not clear whether Iraq will emerge from this chronic violence as a visible and stable country”. (Both Quotes are from the Herald Newspaper on December 2nd 2004). Nothing about Iraq is certain and I believe sending more troops will just end up with more causalities and someone’s child not coming home. It might not be a lost cause but sadly it isn’t certain and only sadness and darker days may come from it.

I couldn't find the exact article Chris sites (something he should have provided us with!), but here is the New York Times version from the same day, U.S. to Increase Its Force in Iraq by Nearly 12,000

Here is the Washington Post article that includes some of Jack Reed's comments.

And here is an article from Al-Jazeera.com that quotes him more extensively.