WASHINGTON, Feb 25 (Reuters) - The United States expects to have 140,000 troops in Iraq in July after withdrawing five combat brigades, leaving a force larger than before it began pouring in troops last year, the Pentagon said on Monday.
...There were some 132,000 U.S. troops in Iraq before President George W. Bush ordered a surge of about 30,000 more to curb rampant violence that threatened to plunge the country into all-out civil war.
After 6 ½ years of occupation we need more troops than before the surge because we are winning. Just look at the force posture levels that are truly conditions based and driven by the mission requirements and the assessments of commanders on the ground.