Rumsfeld's Ruminations Reinforce Reservations , by Jim Lobe: "But with the Turkish option fading, it appears that administration hopes for drawing down U.S. troop levels to less than one-half of the 130,000 troops in Iraq now by the end of 2004 were unrealistic. That assessment, in turn, means that yet more reservists will have to be deployed to Iraq, further straining an overstretched and increasingly demoralised army.
The U.S. commander in Iraq disclosed Wednesday that attacks on U.S. troops there have increased sharply in October, reaching a high of 35 a day, compared to between 10 and 15 attacks in July and August.
Military officials argued that the rise in attacks mostly reflected more-aggressive tactics by U.S. forces, particularly in Sunni-dominated western provinces, where troops had previously asserted only a modest presence."
- posted by geoff @ #