The United States will deploy another combat brigade to Iraq next summer, the Pentagon announced on Tuesday. The deployment is part of the Pentagon's normal rotation of U.S. forces in Iraq, Reuters reported. The brigades are set to begin in sometime in the summer of 2008, and are expected to serve a tour of up to 15 months, Reuters said. About 3,500 soldiers from the U.S. Army's 4th Brigade, 4th Infantry Division at Fort Hood, Texas, will deploy to Iraq to maintain an underlying force of 15 U.S. combat brigades in Iraq, officials said. The brigades will be deployed as U.S. President George W. Bush's “surge” strategy winds down, Reuters reported. The U.S. troop rotation strategy temporarily boosted the U.S. troop presence from 15 to 20 brigades this year in an effort to suppress sectarian violence in and around Baghdad, Reuters reported. There are currently 165,000 U.S. forces in Iraq.
