Increase force, troops tell Gates

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- If American troops who ate breakfast Thursday with new Defense Secretary Robert Gates have their way, he will recommend sending in reinforcements -- and soon.
Gates conferred with U.S. military commanders and Iraqi leaders on what the United States should do next in the grinding war. He also spent an hour with about a dozen soldiers at Camp Victory, eating scrambled eggs and gathering advice from those closest to the action.
When he asked them whether adding forces would help, he got a roomful of nods, and a smattering of "Yes, sir" responses.
"More troops would help us integrate the Iraq Army into patrols more," said Pfc. Cassandra Wallace, from the 10th Mountain Division.
Gates met with troops on the second day of his visit to Iraq as part of President Bush's rethinking of his policies in the 31/2-year-old conflict. Among options are quickly adding thousands of U.S. troops to the 140,000 already in Iraq, in hopes of stanching the escalating violence .
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