Bush announces troop surge in Iraq, admits mistakes

US News

By Mike McCarthy Jan 11, 2007, 12:00 GMT

Washington - US President George W Bush conceded Wednesday that efforts to secure Iraq had failed and that he was sending more than 20,000 extra troops in a strategic shift to quell sectarian killings and hasten the departure of US troops. Bush spoke frankly about errors and misjudgements by both his administration and the Iraqi government that have fed chaos in Iraq and undermined US public support. 'Where mistakes have been made, the responsibility rests with me,' Bush said in a 20-minute primetime address from the White House. Bush's plan was widely viewed as his last real chance to succeed in Iraq and galvanize public support for the war, which has claimed the lives of more 3,000 US soldiers and cost more than 430 billion dollars. He also warned Iraqis in strong terms that the US commitment to the war is not indefinite. The US military and Iraqi government forces have been unable to secure Baghdad because of limitations placed on them by the Iraqi government, but new rules will allow the Americans and Iraqis to be more aggressive, Bush said. 'In earlier operations, political and sectarian interference prevented Iraqi and American forces from going into neighbourhoods that are home to those fuelling the sectarian violence,' Bush said. 'This time, Iraqi and American forces will have a green light to enter these neighbourhoods.' Bush's plan to enlarge the US force has been met by stiff resistance in Congress, where newly empowered opposition Democrats are demanding that US troops begin to be brought home. Opinion polls show most of the American public also opposes a surge. US Senator Dick Durbin, in the Democratic response, called for a withdrawal and said that Bush's new strategy ignores the results of November congressional elections, in which Bush's Republicans lost their majorities to the opposition. 'When (Iraqis) understand that our troops are indeed coming home, then they will understand the day has come to face their own responsibility to protect and defend their nation,' Durbin said. Bush instead argued that more forces to secure Iraq in the short run will lay the foundation for future withdrawals. 'If we increase our support at this crucial moment and help the Iraqis break the current cycle of violence, we can hasten the day our troops begin coming home,' Bush said. The new strategy includes placing more pressure on Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's government to end sectarian violence, which has brought the country to the brink of civil war. 'I have made it clear to the prime minister and Iraq's other leaders that America's commitment is not open-ended,' Bush said. 'If the Iraqi government does not follow through on its promises, it will lose the support of the American people.' The phased buildup, which is expected to take several months, will cost an extra 5.6 billion dollars, a senior administration official said. Some 140,000 US troops are already in Iraq. Centre-left Democrats plan to call for votes in the US Senate and House of Representatives on resolutions rejecting the surge in troops. Although not binding, the measures would force Bush's centre- right Republicans to take a position on the increase. Some Republicans have expressed growing reservations about expanding the US presence. Under the president's plan, the United States will deploy about 17,500 troops to Baghdad to assist with security and contain sectarian violence, but Iraqi forces will remain in the lead. Bush will order another 4,000 soldiers to al-Anbar province in western Iraq, where al-Qaeda has found refuge. Bush said that the Iraqi government has plans to take responsibility for security by November in all of Iraq's provinces. The surge of US troops is a notable departure from the advice of his top military officers for Iraq, who have said that an increase would do little to change conditions on the ground. In preparing to move swiftly on his new plan, Bush announced last week that he was replacing his top military commanders and diplomats in Iraq. The plan will pump more money into the Iraqi economy and dedicate more resources to infrastructure and other public projects. 'Ordinary Iraqi citizens must see that military operations are accompanied by visible improvements in their neighbourhoods and communities,' Bush said. Al-Maliki's government must carry out a national reconciliation plan including regional elections and a law governing the distribution of oil revenues to help ease tensions between Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds, Bush said. 'Only the Iraqis can end the sectarian violence and secure their people,' he said. Bush said that the United States would confront Iran and Syria, accusing them of allowing foreign fighters into the country and supporting attacks on American troops. 'We will interrupt the flow of support from Iran and Syria,' Bush said. Bush acknowledged that his administration had relied too heavily, since 2005, on Iraqi elections and the formation of a government to calm the country and usher in the reduction of US forces. Those hopes were dashed when bloodshed between Sunni and Shiite Muslims 'overwhelmed the political gains the Iraqis had made,' Bush said. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi confirmed that the new congressional leadership plans to call a vote on Bush's troop surge. 'The American people have lost confidence in the president's policy,' she said. Democratic Senator Charles Schumer predicted that a vote in the Senate on a troop increase would go against the president, with many Republicans also voting against the surge. Bush argued that a pullout would 'force a collapse' of the Iraqi government 'and result in mass killings on an unimaginable scale,' instead keeping American troops in Iraq even longer. In a USA Today-Gallup Poll published Wednesday, 61 per cent of Americans questioned said they oppose a 'temporary but significant' increase of troops levels, while 31 per cent backed the idea. © 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur

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Blood MoneyJan 11th, 2007 - 14:52:12

Stop looking at it as Bush's decision? You really think the American empire would trust this guy to handle their activities??

He just signs where he needs to and speaks what he is told to!

The American strategy is to control the oil rich countries in middle east so the EU, China and India don't get their hands in there and convert the Oil transaction from US dollar to Euros!

And it is much easy to steal from a country where there is no functioning government!!!!

Expect Iraq to be like Somalia soon! All the troops are there to protect the oil lines.

How many of you know that 2 million barrels of oil per day are taken by the Americans from Iraq for the last 4 years??? thats $112 dollars worth per day!!! You think Americans are stupid enough to spend 1 trillion dollars so Iraqis can have democracy??!! BS!!!!

This war is a success for American imperialist!

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Capt. MortJan 11th, 2007 - 16:28:59

'Where mistakes have been made, the responsibility rests with me,' Bush said in a 20-minute primetime address from the White House.

There you have it folks. Even though bush is responsible for this mess, he will suffer no consequence. He is totally insulated from prosecution and all law.

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rock n roll fan .Jan 11th, 2007 - 17:59:48

it is a mess in iraq , that seems to be the case . but it also seems that where ever muslims live there is a mess , unless of course , they are ruled by some repressive regime , or dictator . i don't blame president bush for these problems . he's just trying to protect our freer way of life . admittedly , some poor decisions were made regarding iraq by the u.s. administration . however , i dought any of this mess in iraq would be happening if the terrorists had not started the whole mess , by murdering nearly 3000 innocent people the day they decided to give us some flying lessons . i mean , probably 88 % of the people living in north america didn't even know , or could have cared-less what a muslim is until sept. 11 , 2001 . these people don't believe in the rule of law . they are more inclinded to believe only in the rule of thier god . until they loosen-up , then ya . the mess should continue . and as far as i'm concerned the mess can continue for ever . i'd rather fight them , than live in the fantasy world that they figure we should all live in . muslim terrorists and and thier gangster buddies are to blame for the mess in iraq , not president bush .

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Get RealJan 11th, 2007 - 19:22:21

To rock n roll fan ...

Stop the mindless dribble where you want to connect Iraq to what happened on 9/11!!

The whole world knows there was no connection between the two ... well, except for people like you that don't care about facts.

Bush 'choosing' to start a war in Iraq had no justification from 9/11. Period. Got that yet?

re: Bush's admission ... he said, 'Where mistakes have been made, the responsibility rests with me,' ... Does anone else see that Bush DIDN'T admit HE made any mistakes.

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john in azJan 11th, 2007 - 19:40:25

bush should pick up a gun and go fight with the rest of them. it seems the people in iraq don't really care about taking charge of their country. look how long it has been. you would think a people who want to take charge would have by now. instead we are sending more troops to help them. makes zero sense. if we leave now and iraq falls apart, who cares. that is their choice. have our troops deal with problems in our own country. just under two more years until we can elect a new failure as president.

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rock n roll fan .Jan 12th, 2007 - 07:52:49

seems to me , that when i was younger , there was a saying , ' a 'real' man will admitt to his mistakes' . thanks geo. i respect you . now , Get Real ! take your head , stick it between your legs , and kiss your ass goodbye . don't you know that rock n roll is the devils music ? and if you don't know that the devil rules this world , we'll ?... if you don't like rock n roll , it's to late now ! quote . unquote . didn't have enought toys when you were a kid ? spent to much time in sunday school ? ' or ' , maybe the neightbor-hood madrasa ? or maybe you just spend to much time watching commercials on t.v. , where every-boby is whereing seat-belts ! your guess is as good as mine , 'man of god' . ha ha ! puke !ha ! ha ha - ha puke . somebody get me out of here ...

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Get RealJan 12th, 2007 - 15:31:42

To rock n roll fan ...

Thank you for more of your mindless dribble.

Now, regarding your ideas that ALL muslims are bad folks.

You're an ignorant idiot. Full of hatred for things you don't understand.

Clearly you don't know diddly of what you're talking about.

Yes, there are 'some' extremists in the muslim community, but you can't in truth say all muslims support terrorism and violence.

Let me give you an analogy to study.

Members of the Ku Klux Klan call themselves 'christians' ... Does that mean ALL christians support the violence of the Ku Klux Klan? ... of course not.

And, if someone was to say ALL christians are the same as Ku Klux Klan members, they'd be obviously ignorant and stupid. (Much like your uninformed efforts to call all muslims violent).

Do you get the point?

I doubt it, because it involves rational thought.

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