http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-3348847,00.htmlMore U.S. Troops Possible As Turkey Balks Tuesday November 4, 2003 9:46 PM By MATT KELLEY Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - In a major setback to U.S. efforts to attract military help in Iraq, a Turkish official said Tuesday his country won't send peacekeeping troops without a significant change in the situation there. That makes it virtually certain the United States will have to send thousands more U.S. reservists early next year. No additional countries have contributed forces in Iraq since the United Nations Security Council approved a new resolution last month.<snip>
... about 15,000 Army National Guard troops have been mobilized for possible service in Iraq beginning early next year, to replace weary active-duty troops who have been there nearly a year. The newly mobilized troops are members of National Guard brigades from Arkansas, North Carolina and Washington state who are intended to combine with fresh active-duty troops. In addition, the Pentagon might need to call up even more reservists in support units if Turkey or other countries don't end up sending troops, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Richard Myers said recently. U.S. officials have ruled out the idea of increasing overall U.S. troop numbers in Iraq, instead saying they will speed up the process of getting trained Iraqi security forces into the streets to deal with an increasingly sophisticated and deadly insurgency.<snip>
L. Paul Bremer, the U.S. diplomat who heads the American authority in Iraq, said Saturday that the issue of Turkish peacekeepers was between Turkey and the Iraqi governing council. Turkey doesn't see it that way, Logolu said. ``For whatever reason, this (Bush) administration saw fit not to put too much counterweight on the Iraqi Governing Council,'' Logolu said. ``If the U.S. perception of the need for Turkish troops in Iraq changes, then perhaps that could change.''