Agence France-Presse, 04 January 2007
WASHINGTON (AFP) - President George W. Bush could send up to 4 ,000 more US troops to
Iraq when he unveils his revised Iraq policy, US media said as it cautioned that a final figure has not been determined.
Various news reports agree there will be an increase of US forces in Iraq, giving estimates of between 9,000 and 40,000 extra troops.
The move could be controversial as the Iraq war is increasingly unpopular with the US public amid a mounting death toll that now stands at around 3,000 US troops.
It is also likely to be opposed by the US Congress, now in the hands of opposition Democrats.
The reports however caution that the numbers may vary, and that no final decision has been made.
There are currently 132,000 US troops in Iraq as well as 17,000 members of the US-led coalition from 25 other countries, the
Pentagon said Thursday.
CNN television said Bush is looking at sending 20,000-40,000 additional troops and that the announcement could come early next week.
A "targeted increase in troop strength" is "an active subject of discussion," an unnamed senior administration official told CNN, adding that Bush was "significantly along in the process."
NBC News also reported a likely temporary troop increase, citing military officials that believe it will involve some 20,000 new US soldiers and marines.
CBS News, citing US military sources, said Bush is preparing to send some 9,000 soldiers and marines into Iraq, with another 11,000 on alert in Kuwait and the United States.
Two army brigades of about 7,500 troops would go to Baghdad, while some 1,500 marines would be sent to the volatile Sunni western province of Al-Anbar, according to CBS.
Another army brigade would be on standby in Kuwait, and two more army brigades on standby in the United States, CBS reported.
The McClatchy Newspaper chain reported that Bush is considering sending three to four US combat brigades, or between 15,000 and 20,000 US troops.
"Instead of a surge, it is a bump," an unnamed State Department official told McClatchy.
In his Iraq policy speech Bush is also expected to ask Congress for money to provide more jobs for Iraqis, and to announce another plan to help bridge Iraq's bitter Shiite-Sunni divide, according to McClatchy.
White House spokesman Tony Snow said Wednesday that the president has not made a final decision.
"The policy is not done. He is still talking to people. He's going to be engaging in consultations," said Snow amid speculation about the speech's central focus. "You know what the theme is? Victory. Winning."
Bush wrote that he will be addressing the nation on a new Iraq strategy "in the days ahead" in an opinion column in the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday.
The president has previously said he is considering "all options," including a temporary increase of US troops in Iraq.
Most Democrats, some prominent Republicans, and the top US military commander in Baghdad, General George Casey, have warned against a prolonged expansion in the US military presence.
A troop increase is also opposed by Joseph Biden, the incoming head of the powerful
Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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Citation: "Bush could send up to 40,000 more US troops to Iraq," Agence France-Presse, 04 January 2007.
Original URL: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070104/pl_afp/usiraqmilitarybush
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