Backgrounder: More US troops arrive in Iraq

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Source: CCTV.com | 01-16-2007 09:34

This isn't the first time the US has pumped more troops into Iraq. The same number of extra soldiers were sent last summer for a similar security crackdown. But instead of improving the situation, violence actually rose and Iraqi deaths sky-rocketed.

Over 3,000 young American lives have been lost since President Bush started the Iraq War almost four years ago.

This is the third infantry division. The President's new plan to turn things round in Iraq seems likely to add more stress to there lives. They have already served two tours of duty. And enjoyed the honor of a "dining out" with the of the Commander in Chief as a reward. But now they are due to make a third tour in less than four years. Will their return have their impact the President hopes for?

Li Shaoxian, Vice President China Inst. of Contemp. Int'l Rel., said, "Strategically speaking, sending more additional troops is unnecessary. Soldiers deployed there are more than enough to complete their missions. The problem, however, is that the commanders don't know what they are fighting against."