Tough Going - The Worst Yet to Come?

From a Chicago Tribune piece today that Buzzflash gave attention:

WASHINGTON -- Pressure is building in Congress and the military for a significant, indefinite increase in the size of the U.S. force in Iraq, as the recent surge of violence shows little sign of abating and a crucial period in the occupation approaches.

The Pentagon has portrayed the recent extension of the tours of duty of 20,000 troops through July--keeping the number of U.S. troops in Iraq at 135,000--as an emergency measure. But with more violence expected in the period between the transfer of power to Iraqis on June 30 and an election to be held early next year, experts inside and outside the Pentagon say the U.S. likely will need those 20,000 and possibly more on a permanent basis.