Bush announces troop surge in Iraq, admits mistakes

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.