US general to review Iraq policy: NY Times

Gen. Gary Luck, who formerly headed US forces in South Korea and is now a senior adviser to the military's Joint Forces Command, will be looking at issues including troop levels, training of Iraqi security forces and the strategy for fighting a bloody guerrilla war, senior Defence Department officials told the newspaper.

Luck's trip highlights how concerned senior Pentagon officials and top US commanders are over the situation in Iraq, members of Congress and military analysts said, according to the Times.

Luck, who will lead a small team of military specialists, was told on Thursday by Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to report back in a few weeks with a confidential assessment, senior defence officials told the paper.

"He will have a very wide canvas to draw on," the Times quoted Lawrence Di Rita, the Pentagon spokesman, as saying of Luck's mandate.

The Times also reported that the Pentagon is considering increasing the amount of time for which reservists can be called up for total active service; the limit is currently 24 months.

A Defence Department spokesman was not immediately available for comment to Reuters on the report.