US officials split over troop surge in Iraq -paper

WASHINGTON, Dec 19 (Reuters) As President George W Bush weighs options for changing course in Iraq, his administration is split over the concept of sending in more troops, The Washington Post reported today.

White House officials are aggressively promoting a short-term increase in US troop levels in Iraq over the unanimous disagreement of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the newspaper reported, citing officials familiar with the debate.

The chiefs of the military services think the White House still does not have a defined mission and is latching on to the idea of a surge of troops in Iraq, in part, because of limited alternatives, the report said, citing the officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The Joint Chiefs have warned that a short-term mission could give an edge to the armed factions in Iraq without providing a lasting boost to the US military mission or to the Iraqi army, the report said.

Sending 15,000 to 30,000 more troops to Iraq for six to eight months is one proposal under consideration as the White House looks for ways to halt the worsening situation in Iraq, the officials told the Post.

The officials were quoted as saying that the idea of a much larger deployment for a longer mission was virtually off the table, mainly for logistics reasons.

There are currently about 134,000 US troops in Iraq.

Bush has been seeking advice about a new plan for Iraq from military officials, the State Department and others in and out of government.

The Post quoted a senior administration official as saying that it was ''too simplistic'' to say that the surge question had broken down into a fight between the White House and the Pentagon. But the official acknowledged that the military has questioned the option but has not directly opposed it, the newspaper said.

''I've never heard them be depicted that way to the president,'' the official told the newspaper.

''Because they ask questions about what the mission would be doesn't mean they don't support it,'' the official said. ''Those are the kinds of questions the president wants his military planners to be asking.'' REUTERS MS RK1150