The US army is reportedly considering whether to add more combat units to the rotation plan to meet a top commander's decision to keep more than 140,000 troops in Iraq for another year.
The Washington Timesreported today that the US army also is considering speeding up the deployment of some brigades in a move to try to stop sectarian violence among Sunnis and Shias in Baghdad.
Army General John Abizaid, head of US Central Command overseeing the war, said last week that the United States is unlikely to begin cutting its forces in Iraq before the middle of next year.
He said the United States might even increase the size of its force from the current 147,000.
US troop levels have increased by 20,000 since late July. They peaked at about 160,000 late last year.
In June, when there were 127,000 US troops in Iraq, US commanders proposed bringing home two brigades of about 3,500 each this month and one or two more by the end of the year.