Kuwait may host US Iraq backup force

The troops will be kept as a backup or rotational training force for Iraq, after the Pentagon completes the scheduled withdrawal of its current 45,000-strong force from Iraq in December, US officials said.The proposal, not yet announced, is among a number of options the administration is considering for extending its military training role in still-violent Iraq, whose divided government has been reluctant to ask Washington directly to keep troops on its soil beyond this year.All troops are to leave Iraq by Dec. 31 under a 2008 security agreement, but senior US officials worry that without more training the Iraqi forces may squander hard-won security gains. The Iraqi army, for example, is only now taking delivery of US battle tanks, on which they have yet to be trained.Iraqs security forces are improving but still lack the capability to defend fully Iraqi air space, borders and territorial waters, US military officers say.There are some gaps in their military capabilities, their security capabilities, that we believe we could offer some assistance with, Navy Capt. John Kirby, a spokesman for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Thursday. Discussions with the Iraqis on this are in an early stage, Kirby added.The Obama administration favors a proposal that would leave 3,000 to 5,000 US troops in Iraq next year to train Iraqi forces, US officials said this week. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because Iraq has not yet asked for any extension of forces.It has not previously been reported that staging US forces in Kuwait as a part of that training mission, or possibly along with that mission, is being considered. One of the US officials said the administration would foresee the Kuwait arrangement lasting for three years, starting in 2012, with troops rotating into Iraq for six-month stints. No decisions have been made, and it was not clear whether direct talks with the Kuwaiti government have begun.Kuwait has played a pivotal role in the Iraq war from its beginning. The bulk of US ground forces launched the invasion from Kuwaiti territory in March 2003, and the tiny Gulf state has served as a transit point for coalition supply convoys and air transport throughout the conflict. The US uses Kuwaiti air and land bases and maintains a small force in the country now. The Iraq backup forces would be besides that contingent.