U.S. commander says more international troops needed

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- More international troops are needed in Iraq to stave off threats ranging from al-Qaida terrorists to brewing ethnic and religious conflicts, the top U.S. commander said Thursday.

Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez said he had enough soldiers to accomplish the mission given to him by Washington, but its scope did not include guarding Iraq's porous borders or its thousands of miles of highways. Sanchez said last week it was impossible for coalition forces to defend the full length of pipeline that carries Iraq's oil.

On Thursday, he warned that international forces were needed to reinforce existing coalition forces in tackling looming security threats, such as Iranian fighters or possible conflict between Iraq's Sunni and Shiite Muslims sects.

"If a militia or an internal conflict of some nature were to erupt ... that would be an additional security challenge out there that I do not have sufficient forces for," Sanchez said.

"There are security challenges that are looming in the future that will require additional forces, and those are issues that with the coalition, and with time, can be resolved," he said.

Also on Thursday, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld came to Baghdad and said the U.S. military is "looking at ways of accelerating" the process of bringing former members of Saddam Hussein's military -- and possibly his security services -- into the Iraqi security forces.

Rumsfeld echoed the words of Sanchez and Iraq's U.S. civilian administrator, L. Paul Bremer, who say the key to solving Iraq's problems is building up Iraqi security forces -- not adding more U.S. soldiers.

Perceptions

In Washington, Gen. Rich-ard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said international troops were necessary because there is a need to counter the impression that this is strictly an American operation.

"This has an awful lot to do with the Iraqi people and how they perceive coalition forces. I think the last thing we want is for them to believe this is a mission of the United States. It's much bigger than that," Myers said.

The Bush administration is pushing a new United Nations resolution aimed at persuading more nations to contribute troops. Russia gave its first signal Thursday that it could send peacekeepers to Iraq, and Britain said it was considering whether to increase its force levels.

Germany and France, who led opposition to the Iraq war, criticized the draft resolution, saying it falls short by not granting responsibility to Iraqis or a large enough role to the United Nations. But officials from both Germany and France said the U.S. proposal was a good basis for negotiations.

Rumsfeld estimated that other countries could provide "maybe another division" in Iraq, or about 10,000 troops. There are now about 140,000 U.S. troops and about an additional 20,500 from 29 other countries, including Britain.

A chief architect of U.S. invasion, Rumsfeld was credited with the decision to send a force less than half the size deployed by the Pentagon for the 1991 Gulf War.

However, the objective of this mission -- occupying the entire country -- was more ambitious than in 1991, when the United States sought only to drive Iraqi forces from Kuwait.

"I have communicated very clearly to Central Command ... and to senior leadership that has come through here, that I do not need additional U.S. forces," Sanchez said. "Clearly, I have also stated that if coalition forces were to be offered, we would gladly accept them."

Fresh forces -- including those from Muslim countries -- were welcome, but whatever form the force eventually takes, it should stay under direct U.S. command, he said.

The newly named Iraqi foreign minister said no troops should be used from any of Iraq's neighbors.

"It is advisable that none of Iraq's neighboring countries participate in peacekeeping missions because they may carry with them their own political agenda that may lead to tension and destabilization. This applies to all neighboring countries," Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari told The Associated Press.

In what could be a more immediate confrontation, Sanchez said U.S. troops would force the Badr Brigade, a Shiite militia, to disarm if reports of its reactivation proved true.

The Badr Brigade is the armed wing of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq. U.S. troops ordered the brigade disarmed and disbanded early in the occupation. But on Wednesday, Abdel-Aziz al-Hakim -- a member of the U.S.-picked Governing Council and brother of Ayatollah Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim, who was killed in last week's Najaf car bombing -- suggested the militia had rearmed to provide security for Shiites.