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Bush Surges Iraq Troops, Admits Mistakes

by IOL (reposted)
CAIRO — Admitting that his mistakes had cost the lives of over 3,000American soldiers and hundreds o thousands of Iraqis, US President George W. Bush decided on Thursday, January11 , to send nearly 22,000more troops to the war-ravaged Arab country, reported the Washington Post.

"The situation in Iraq is unacceptable to the American people, and it is unacceptable to me," Bush said in a much-awaited televised address.

He announced sending 21,500more troops to Iraq in the next four months to help provide security in the capital Baghdad and fight what he said "insurgency" – the US term for the Iraqi resistance – in Al-Anbar province.

Bush said that the focus of the new surge would be to advise and support Iraqi forces.

Iraq has been grabbed by a bloody cycle of violence, with hundreds of Iraqis being killed on a daily basis, mostly because of rampant militias.

There are nearly 14,000 US troops in Iraq. More than 3,000 US soldiers have been killed since the 2003 US invasion-turned-occupation of the oil-rich country.

A recent report by the bipartisan Iraq Study Group has recommended the pullback of all US combat troops from the war-torn country by 2008 to help stop Iraq from sliding into anarchy.

But Bush rejected the recommendation, saying the proposal was a recipe for "deepening disaster".

"To step back now would force a collapse of the Iraqi government," he said.

"Such a scenario would result in our troops being forced to stay in Iraq even longer, and confront an enemy that is even more lethal.

"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."

Humbled Bush

Marking a rare acceptance of errors, the embattled US president admitted responsibility for the current deteriorating security situation in Iraq.

More
http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1168265530882&pagename=Zone-English-News/NWELayout
by UK Guardian (reposted)
President Bush has made his last throw in the Iraq debacle with his "surge" of 21,500 more troops. He still believes - still has to believe - that victory in some meaningful military way is possible. The political and aid package that was fundamental to this last throw has proved to be little more than an afterthought. He is putting his faith in one last military heave. His military tactics are, by default, his political strategy.

He's got at least one intellectual supporter for the belief that victory can be achieved this way. Frederick Kagan, whose book Choosing Victory was sent to the President at just the right psychological moment, argues that more of the same - actually much more of the same - will allow Bush to escape the ignominy that even his close supporters now fear awaits him. It appeals to the President's evangelical nature that believes history will justify this war. Since history is nought but what historians write, perhaps it will. Certainly, Frederick Kagan understands the importance of the well-turned phrase and the catchy title in making a political impact on embattled politicians.

The British in the south are working hard to keep themselves de-coupled from this. And they are right to do so. Their own Operation Sinbad has been running since late September and will reach its conclusion within the next two months. After a shaky start it has gone reasonably well - to the point where this week all of the routine patrolling has been done by the Iraqis themselves.

More
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/michael_clarke/2007/01/post_903.html
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