Bush Surges Iraq Troops, Admits Mistakes

"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.

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