U.S. President George W. Bush's plan to increase American troop levels in Iraq is expected to require the Army eventually to send as many as six National Guard combat brigades to Iraq, beginning in 2008, The New York Times reported Wednesday.

The increased demand on the National Guard in coming years is a likely by-product of Bush's decision, expected to be announced in a speech Wednesday night, to send five active-duty combat brigades, or about 20,000 troops, to Iraq, starting at the end of this month, the report quoted current and former officials as saying.

Two of those brigades are likely to be in place by mid-February, with the rest following in one a month until May, a military official with access to a recent version of the plan told the newspaper.

The Bush blueprint also envisions sending two additional Marine battalions to Iraq's Anbar Province, and delaying the departure of 2,200 additional Marines now in the province.

It remains unclear whether Bush will discuss the heightened future demand on the National Guard during his much-anticipated address, but identifying the additional units for possible deployment is likely to begin in the days and weeks after he delivers the speech, the report said.

Of the 15 combat brigades now in Iraq, only one is from the National Guard and most are from the Army and the Marine Corps.

National Guard combat units that have already gone to Iraq and returned may have to be sent back for second tours in order to relieve some of the stress on the active-duty Army, but such a move would most likely require revising a Pentagon policy that has limited mobilization of Guard units to 24 months every five years, officials said.

Source: Xinhua