(21 Dec 2006) SHOTLIST
1. Various of US Defence Secretary Robert Gates in breakfast line with soldiers
2. Mid of Gates sitting at breakfast table, talking with soldiers
3. Wide of soldiers at table
4. Various of Gates eating, talking with soldiers
5. Gates walking out and getting into car
6. Various of Gates arriving for lunch, shaking hands with US military officials
7. Mid of Gates preparing plate
8. Close up of Gates and top US commander in Iraq General George Casey in background
9. Mid of Gates walking out of frame
10. Wide of room with Gates seated
11. Close up of Casey talking
12. Wide of room
STORYLINE
US Defence Secretary Robert Gates held a breakfast session with US troops at Camp Victory, Iraq, on Thursday morning, where several soldiers told him extra forces on the ground would help.
His hour-long question-and-answer session with around 15 soldiers was largely spent gathering insights from those closest to the action.
When Gates asked the troops whether adding forces would help, he got a roomful of nods.
But the troops may be somewhat at odds with military commanders, who worry that rushing thousands more Americans to the battlefront could prompt Iraqis to slow their effort to take control of their country.
Gates said those concerns were clearly a consideration in mapping out future strategy.
Gates later travelled by helicopter to Balad Air Base, west of Baghdad, for a special operations briefing.
He said US logistics and support troops were likely to be in Iraq for a lot longer than the combat forces, as efforts continue to stabilise the country.
General George Casey, the top US commander in Iraq and one of several generals who met with Gates, said he supports boosting troop levels only when there is a specific purpose for their deployment.
The new defence chief is visiting Iraq with a high-level entourage to assess options for calming violence in the country as US President George W. Bush considers sending thousands more troops.
Bush is expected to unveil his new policy next month (January).
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