Number of troops increased in Iraq

As a result of increasing resistance to American forces in Iraq, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld announced that an increased number of troops are going to remain overseas.

April marks the deadliest month since the start of the war in Iraq; according to Pentagon figures, over 90 U.S. soldiers have died. Overall, an overwhelming majority of soldiers, 490 out of a total of 628, have been killed since May 1, after Bush announced the end of the official war with Iraq. (Associated Press numbers at MSNBC)

Rumsfeld said at a Pentagon Press Conference on Thursday that the rebel groups are trying to dishearten and evict American troops. "Their objective is to break the will of the American people and drive the U.S. and coalition forces out of Iraq; to foment civil war among Iraqis, as has been announced in one of the intercepted letters; and to stop the transfer of sovereignty to the Iraqi people. Their strategy is failing."

Also according to Rumsfeld, various generals have reported that "Fallujah is being contained and that the situation in the south at this time is largely stabilized, while there are still various attacks and incidents taking place. The coalition has had good cooperation from the moderate Shi'a leadership, who like the vast majority of the Iraqi people want to see freedom and the rule of law take root."

Currently, because there are troops coming in to replace those who were planning to return home, there is a larger-than-normal number of troops. Rumsfeld says that the reason for the current successes is "because we have the extra troops there."

Therefore, those soldiers who were originally planning to return home are now required to stay for an extended 90 to 120 day period. About 135,000, up from 115,000, troops will now remain in Iraq.

Should these extra forces be needed for longer than the 90 to 120 day period, Rumsfeld said, "the current plan is to replace them by bringing in other forces; that is to say, replace those that would be extended by bringing in other forces from other locations in the world."

General Peter Pace said at the conference that there are still plenty of U.S. troops that can be added to Iraq or other areas that may be needed. "We have the capacity, with 2.4 million individuals available to us, active, Guard and Reserve, to handle this ongoing war and anything that I can think of that's on the horizon," he said.

Rumsfeld apologized for the inconvenience of those required to spend more time than anticipated overseas, but he said it is necessary for American success. "Needless to say, we regret having to extend those individuals. They had anticipated being in country or in the AOR something like up to 365 days; this will extend their time in Iraq somewhat. But the country is at war and we need to do what is necessary to succeed," Rumsfeld said. "Our country is engaged in a global war on terror. We have things we simply must do. And as with everything, there's always the final phrase that we will do what it is we have to do to be successful."

"What's taking place there is that you're taking a country that has had decades of a repressive system and a command economic system and trying to get from there to a representative and a democratic system. And it's a tough road, and it's a bumpy road and, I'll be honest, it's an uncertain road," Rumsfeld said.

All quotes were gathered from the transcript of the conference available at the United States Department of Defense.