General John Abizaid, the head of Central Command, did not say where the new troops would come from or whether it would add to the number of troops in Iraq, though experts said it could require up to 10,000 extra forces. The General has made a request to the Joint Chiefs of Staff and to the Defence Department in Washington for the combat brigades. Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez, the head of US forces in Iraq, said on Sunday that reinforcements would probably not be needed. He said there were currently about 129,000 US troops in Iraq.
