Pentagon: U.S. to keep expanded force in Iraq

It is also considering beefing up a task force to help defeat Iraq's main weapon.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The U.S. military is likely to keep an expanded force of about 160,000 troops in Iraq through the Dec. 15 election of a new government and then make a "fairly rapid" reduction to what has been the standard troop level of about 138,000, a senior Pentagon official said Thursday.
Marine Corps Lt. Gen. James T. Conway, the director of operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a Pentagon news conference that there currently are "just short of" 160,000 American troops in Iraq.
"That's sort of the baseline figure that we think we'll probably see on through the election period," Conway said, adding that the number would fluctuate as fresh Army forces arrive to replace those completing their one-year tours of duty.
Three of the 101st Airborne Division's four combat brigades, for example, have recently arrived in Iraq, and the 4th Infantry Division is beginning to move in. After the election, the 3rd Infantry Division will be leaving.
Confirms report
Conway also confirmed a Los Angeles Times report that the Pentagon is considering putting a general with more seniority in charge of a task force that has been struggling for two years to defeat the main weapon Iraqi insurgents are using to kill and maim American troops: the improved explosive device, or homemade bomb.
The task force, now headed by a one-star Army general, Joseph Votel, has been credited with finding various technological answers to the threat. But in the meantime the insurgents have managed to find new methods of devising and employing the weapon. Most U.S. troop deaths in Iraq in recent months have been caused by homemade bombs, even though U.S. forces find large numbers of them before they can be detonated.
Conway said the Pentagon may put a three-star general in charge of the task force, although no final decision has been made. He said the effort is getting maximum attention because "it's the only tool the enemy really has left in order to be able to take us on and cause casualties. And when we defeat that one method, it's over."
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