The U.S. military is planning to temporarily increase the number of American troops in Iraq to bolster security ahead of the January election.
The Defense Department announced Wednesday it will increase the size of U.S. forces in Iraq from its current level of 138,000 to 150,000. The increase will come from extending the tours of 10,400 active duty combat troops already in Iraq, along with the deployment of an additional 15-hundred active duty soldiers.
Also on Wednesday, Iraqi interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi met with exiled Iraqi tribal and secular leaders in Jordan in an effort to win broad support for the January election.
The interim Iraqi government is rejecting calls from some Sunni parties to postpone the vote because of security concerns.