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B4 The Bell, Tuesday April 13


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Huge boost for troop numbers

By Phillip Coorey, Malcolm Cole and wire services

14apr04

 

US President George W. Bush is today expected to announce a massive injection of extra troops into Iraq in a bid to quell American unease about the deteriorating security in the country.

 

Overnight the US also foreshadowed a major offensive against the militia of radical Shiite Muslim cleric, Moqtada al-Sadr.

US troops arrested al-Sadr's chief aide Sheikh Hazem al-Araji as he was leaving a television interview in a Baghdad hotel last night.

 

In a rare press conference today, Mr Bush will attempt to convince Americans - and the world - that not only must the coalition presence in Iraq continue, but that it must be strengthened.

 

The Bush administration is dealing with the greatest number of American combat deaths in any single month since it sent troops to Iraq and growing opposition to the war among Americans.

 

The US commander in Iraq, General John Abizaid, yesterday paved the way for Mr Bush's announcement.

 

General Abizaid said that he needed two extra combat brigades, equal to about 10,000 soldiers, in addition to the 135,000 US troops who are already in Iraq.

 

General Abizaid told reporters in Washington that the return of some troops from Iraq to the US would almost certainly be delayed.

 

He made a request to the Joint Chiefs of Staff and to the Defence Department in Washington for the extra combat brigades.

 

"In terms of capability, what I have asked for is essentially to have a strong mobile combat arms capability," General Abizaid said.

 

"That's about probably two brigades worth of combat power, if not more.

http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/st...255E401,00.html

A year ago, some top generals in the US military suggested that the US would need 200,000 or so troops in Iraq. Rumsfeld and others in the GWB adminstration disagreed and played down those comments.

 

I guess we will get some type of spin tonight that troubles in Iraq could not be anticipated, just like the strike on the WTC could not have been anticipated.

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New Lows now 68 on the NYSE.

 

Somebody wants out and is just hitting the bids on a wide range of issues.

 

Is another geopolitical event coming?

There has been an enormous seller of spoos (unwinding long position) this morning "rotating" through the white shoes so as to move inventory without spooking the markets.

 

imo two pillars of the reflation trade, ultar low rates & declining $, have collapsed. The last pillar long stocks, bonds &/or commodities must get punished.

 

Note the Egyptian market just made a 7-year high. What do they export? some cotton. What do they import? Everything else. Do they have a stable currency? No. Why is it making a parabolic move much like Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and all the other cats & dogs? Liquidity searching for any yield above 1%. No different than a bulletin board stock trading 500 shares/day for 5 years and suddenly trades up 100% per day on 40m shares/day for a week. This kind of action does not happen at the beginning of bull moves

Great observations Rog

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FWIW ... sold my just vested options this morning, just shy of all time high set a couple days ago. Big shiny horseshoes. Market is free to crater ........... :P

 

Go Mooooooosssse......

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