Pentagon Preparing For Further "Surge" Of Troop Levels

AP ROBERT BURN April 21, 2007 09:30 AM

The Pentagon is laying the groundwork to extend the U.S. troop buildup in Iraq. At the same time, the administration is warning Iraqi leaders that the boost in forces could be reversed if political reconciliation is not evident by summer.

This approach underscores the central difficulty facing President Bush. If political progress is not possible in the relatively short term, then the justification for sending thousands more U.S. troops to Baghdad -- and accepting the rising U.S. combat death toll that has resulted -- will disappear. That in turn would put even more pressure on Bush to yield to the Democratic-led push to wind down the war in coming months.

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