Washington ? The Pentagon is moving ahead with scheduled troop deployments to Iraq next month as the U.S. military struggles to gain control of the escalating violence in Baghdad, according to a senior defense official.

The decision caps weeks of internal discussions about whether to delay or cancel the deployment of any units, which would have signaled an accelerated withdrawal of U.S. troops. It also underscores the difficulties in quelling the sectarian fighting and reflects remarks by the top U.S. commander in Iraq that he may shift more soldiers into Baghdad.

The military’s current sentiment is to keep the status quo in Iraq, rather than moving toward a withdrawal that might be ill-advised considering the violence between the Sunnis and Shiites, the senior defense official said.