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    U.S. boosting Iraq forces by the hundreds
    (AP)
    Updated: 2006-03-16 11:09

    Concerned about escalating violence as Iraq struggles to form a new government, the U.S. military has sent several hundred troops with tanks and other armor from Kuwait to the Baghdad area.

    Australia's Foreign Minister Alexander Downer (L) greets U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice at the Intercontinental Hotel in Sydney, Australia March 16, 2006. Rice began a three-day trip to Australia on Thursday to thank one of America's closest allies for keeping troops in Iraq and to discuss China's emergence as an Asia-Pacific power.[Reuters]

    It is the first time extra troops have been sent since December's parliamentary election, which was followed by a period of political wrangling and a wave of sectarian violence triggered by the bombing of a Shiite shrine on Feb. 22.

    Moving an Army battalion of about 700 soldiers from Kuwait is part of a broader plan, dubbed "Scales of Justice," that includes the repositioning of several thousand U.S. and Iraqi security forces inside Iraq, officials said Wednesday.

    The moves, which include two other Army battalions, come in anticipation of potential sectarian violence related to a Shiite pilgrimage this month marking the Arba'een religious holiday and in response to a request by the Iraqi government.

    The only unit added from outside Iraq is the battalion from Kuwait, which is part of the 1st Armored Division.

    The decision to add the armored unit from Kuwait, though meant to be temporary, is in contrast to the Bush administration's hopes of substantially reducing the U.S. military presence in Iraq this year. There are currently about 133,000 U.S. troops there. It comes amid Bush administration efforts to persuade the American public that the war effort is succeeding. Opinion polls show faltering public support for the war.

    Gen. George Casey, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, was quoted in a news release from Baghdad as saying he had discussed the plan with Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari, "and we found it prudent to provide this additional support."

    "We called forces forward to provide support to the ISF (Iraqi security forces) for a safe observance of the Arba'een religious holiday and the formation of the new Iraqi government," Casey added.

    The battalion is to return to Kuwait "after its mission is completed," said Casey, who did not elaborate.
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