U.S. Force In Iraq To Grow As Marine Deployment Pushed Up
General: Corps badly stretched
(USA Today, June 9, 2004, Pg. 8)
The Pentagon will increase the number of U.S. troops in Iraq to around 145,000 this summer, from the current 140,000, in recognition of the continued difficulty coalition forces are having in providing security leading up to the hand-over of political power to Iraqis on June 30. The new troops will come from the Marine Corps, which will move up a deployment originally planned for this fall, sending 5,000 Marines to Iraq by August.