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| Rumsfeld says more troops - Iraqi and international - needed in Iraq
SHANNON, Ireland, Sept 4 (AFP) - US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said Thursday more forces were needed in Iraq but Iraqis and international troops, not more Americans, should be used to strengthen security. Rumsfeld's acknowledgement came as he flew to the Middle East on a previously unannounced visit to meet with commanders and troops as the US sought UN backing for a multinational force in Iraq. Adaptive intelligence for a serious advantage: business, investment and technology- BizVantage! Speaking to reporters travelling with him en route to the region he acknowledged the need for more security forces in Iraq but said US commanders believe there are sufficient US troops in the country. "Should the total number go up for security? Yes, I think so, but I think it's going to be on the Iraqi side and on the international side more than the US side," he said. "We already have a very large number there." Asked how many international troops were needed he said: "I don't know, maybe another division." He said most of the security requirements would have to come from increasing the size of the Iraqi army and police. "They ultimately are going to have to provide the security for that country rather than flooding it with American forces," he said. Rumsfeld said he would be meeting US commanders and civilian leaders in the region to get an assessment of the situation in Iraq where a US-led occupation has been wracked by car bombings, attacks and a mounting coalition death toll. The secretary, whose aircraft touched down at Shannon airport, gave no details on his itinerary except to say he would be making "multiple stops" in the US central command area of operations which includes Iraq and Afghanistan. The trip came as the United States said it would seek a mandate for a US-led multinational force in Iraq and attempt to encourage more countries to provide troops and assistance. President George W. Bush has come under intensifying domestic pressure to stem the slide in Iraq with more troops and a larger role for the United Nations which he has resisted until now. Rumsfeld denied he was standing in the way of a larger US force saying he was simply following the professional advice of his commanders that the estimated 140,000 now in the country were sufficient. "Some think they are wrong. I think they are right," he said. "I am not resisting anything." Even if commanders were to ask for more, the US army is strapped for troops after two wars and the potential of an even more devastating conflict in the Korean peninsula. A report by the Congressional Budget Office released this week concluded that the US military would be unable to sustain the force of 106,000 troops by next year in Iraq unless it extends tours of duty longer than a year or calls up more national guards and reserves. A Polish-led international division assumed responsibility from US marines Wednesday for an area of southern Iraq that includes Najaf, a city torn by the killing Friday of Shiite leader Mohammad Baqer al-Hakim in a car bombing that also killed more than 80 others. But without a United Nations mandate, Washington has had trouble finding troopps for at least one more division that commanders say they need to ease the burden on US forces. General James Jones, commander of US forces in Europe, was in Ankara Wednesday to lobby for Turkish troops for Iraq. Washington also has asked India and Pakistan to contribute troops but has been stymied by the lack of a UN resolution. jm/bm Iraq-US-Rumsfeld-Mideast
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