Iraq

20,000 troops to stay on for months

WASHINGTON - About 20,000 U.S. soldiers who had been due to return from Iraq to their home bases this month and next will have their tours extended in a plan the Pentagon finalized Wednesday, defense officials said.

While the commander of U.S. forces in the Persian Gulf had said last week that he would need more troops, the plan spells out for the first time how many soldiers will be affected and which units they are from. Most are combat troops: 14,300 from the 1st Armored Division, including an attached aviation unit, and 2,800 from the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment. The final list is due for release today. The extension will run for three to four months.

NEW YORK - Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., said Wednesday that President Bush's stubbornness in refusing to share authority and decisionmaking with the United Nations and other countries has put U.S. forces at greater risk, unduly burdened American taxpayers and made success in Iraq far more difficult.

"I think the approach of this administration has been consistent and stubborn in the way that it persists in this American occupation and in proceeding down its own road," Kerry said. "It has made that mistake from Day 1, and it is costing us money and I think it is costing us lives."

The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee charged that Bush failed in his Tuesday night news conference to offer a clear exit strategy for U.S. forces or to show any willingness to cede authority to gain greater international cooperation.

NEW ORLEANS - The Marines have completed an investigation into a photo circulating on the Internet that depicts a reservist with two Iraqi boys and a sign saying the serviceman killed one boy's father and impregnated the child's sister.

A Marine Reserves spokesman said Wednesday that the results of the investigation will not be made public until they have informed Lance Cpl. Ted J. Boudreaux Jr. of how they intend to proceed. Boudreaux is not on active duty and the Marines were trying to contact him Wednesday.

The spokesman, Capt. Jeffrey Pool, said at least two other versions of the photo were on the Internet, each with a different sign.

World and national headlines

© 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times 490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111 Contact the Times | Privacy Policy Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright