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US forces in Iraq admit morale is low

US defense officials said on Thursday they are drawing up plans to mobilize more American forces for duty in Iraq in the expectation that too few international troops will be available by early next year.

A survey of US troops in Iraq, meanwhile, found that one-third described their morale as low and half did not plan to re-enlist -- findings that led Pentagon leaders to say on Thursday they are closely watching for such problems.

The additional reservists to be called up have not been notified because Pentagon planners have yet to decide which units to call on, and there remains a chance that international troops can be used instead.

The extra forces -- which could turn out to be a mixture of international troops, active-duty US Marines and National Guard and Reserve soldiers -- are to replace active-duty units due to return home.

Some members of Congress said it was time to bring home some units already in Iraq.

"You have to have some sort of rotation scheme for the men or women that are over there that's a limit to how long they'll stay. Then you have to bring in other people, other divisions or other National Guard or whatever,'' said Senator Trent Lott of Mississippi.

The survey of 1,935 troops, published in a series of special reports on Iraq in the Stars and Stripes newspaper, also found that a significant number of troops were confused about the purpose of their presence, and had lost faith in their mission.

Coinciding with the report, the army on Thursday admitted that at least 13 US troops had committed suicide in Iraq, representing more than 10 per cent of American non-combat deaths there, and said the army had sent a suicide-prevention expert to Iraq.

Stars and Stripes, which is funded by the Pentagon, says it embarked on the project after receiving scores of letters from disenchanted servicemen. The mailbags belied claims last week by President Bush that increasingly negative public perceptions of Iraq were a product of media spin, and that those who had been there held different views.

Not so those for serving up to 12 months in Iraq, according to Stars and Stripes, which noted that the troops' views stood in sharp contrast to those of senior officials on brief visits to Iraq.

On Thursday the newspaper quoted an unidentified master sergeant as saying that the delegations of officers and Congressmen only met small groups of specially selected soldiers.

"They stacked the deck," he says.

Instead, 49 percent of those who answered the newspaper's questionnaire rated the morale of their unit as low or very low, 49 percent said it was unlikely they would re-enlist, and 31 percent said they thought the war had not been worthwhile.

Stars and Stripes noted that soldiers who were open about morale problems had at times faces disciplinary action. Although the malaise appears to be linked to uncertainty about the length of their stay, another significant factor appears to be the meaning of their mission.

Stars and Stripes said 35 percent of respondents complained their mission was not clearly defined. It quotes a member of the National Guard as saying: "We 're in the dark."
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