McCain, military disagree on troop levels

WASHINGTON, Nov. 17 (UPI) -- U.S. military officials have expressed disagreement with Sen. John McCain's call for more U.S. troops to be sent to Iraq.

McCain, R-Ariz., who has repeatedly said that thousands more troops are needed in Iraq, said Thursday that victory in Iraq hinges on the addition of more troops, The Washington Post reported.

"Without additional combat forces, we will not win this war," McCain said. He said higher numbers of troops were needed to clean out insurgent strongholds, halt sectarian violence and train Iraqi security forces. "We need to do all these things if we are to succeed. And we will need more troops to do them."

However, U.S. military officials have said the addition of more troops would strain the military and be difficult to sustain, the Post reported. They predicted that boosting troop levels would not yield long-term benefits.

U.S. Army Gen. John Abizaid, head of U.S. Central Command, said Wednesday that adding U.S. troops could prevent Iraqi forces from taking control of the situation.

"It's easy for the Iraqis to rely upon us to do this work," Abizaid said. "I believe that more American forces prevent the Iraqis from doing more, from taking more responsibility for their own future."