Jan. 11, 2007
 
PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS: Bush Pledges 21,500 More U.S. Troops in Iraq, Strengthening Iraq Army, Police Forces; Rebuilding Infrastructure; Preventing Foreign Terrorists from Entering Nation
 
By David M. Kinchen
Editor, Huntington News Network
 
Acknowledging that mistakes were made in the Iraq war, now in its fourth year, President George W. Bush on Wednesday evening, Jan. 10, 2007 said the U.S. will commit 21,500 more troops in Iraq – including 4,000 in Anbar province, an al Qaeda stronghold and the most violent province aside from Baghdad itself.
 
Speaking for just over 20 minutes from the White House library, Bush said that the responsibility for the mistakes rests with him. He cited the participation of 12 million Iraqis in the 2005 elections, which raised the hopes that a democratic Iraq would be able to transform itself, using American troops and Iraqi security forces to control and eliminate violence.
 
He said that in 2006 the opposite happened when the violence in Iraq – “particularly in Baghdad” – overwhelmed security forces. Al Qaeda terrorists and Sunni insurgents recognized the danger to them of the Iraqi election and they responded “with outrageous acts of murder aimed at innocent Iraqis.” He cited the destruction of Shiite holy places, including the Golden Mosque of Samara, in an effort to provoke the Shiite population to retaliate – which they did.
 
Bush’s call for a troop “surge” was strongly opposed by Sen. Dick Durbin, D-IL, giving the Democrat response following Bush’s address to the nation. Durbin, voicing the concerns of Democrats and others opposed to sending more troops to Iraq, said that 20,000 troops are “too few” to win the war and too many to place at risk in the fourth year of a war that Iraqi troops and security forces should be doing the fighting.
 
Durbin said that we have given the Iraqis so much, overthrowing a tyrant and providing the framework for the first democratic regime in the nation’s history. Durbin added that by sending more troops to Iraq, Bush is ignoring the advice of his own generals – he cited Gen. John P. Abizaid by name, commander of the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) – and the bi-partisan Iraq Study Group. Democrats have urged Bush to come up with a plan for phased withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq – a suggestion Bush rejected in his speech.
 
“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,” he said. Bush’s strategy incorporates ideas in a plan from Nuri al-Maliki, Iraq’s prime minister, aimed at stabilizing and reducing sectarian violence in Baghdad. Bush said that 80 percent of the violence in Iraq occurs within a 30-mile radius of Baghdad. The troop “surge” calls for Iraq’s government to send three new brigades into Baghdad within the next month in addition to the six already there. The US would add five brigades to its Baghdad presence. The US would also send an additional 4,000 troops to Anbar province, which is the stronghold of Al Qaeda in Iraq.
 
The overall level of U.S. forces in Iraq will rise from 132,000 to more than 150,000, with many of the troops helping Iraq’s army and police forces combat sectarian violence in the country.
 
Bush called for civilians from the U.S. to help Iraq rebuild its infrastructure. He added that Iraq is spending $10 billion of its own money on infrastructure rebuilding, with much of the funds coming from oil revenues.
 
Bush added that Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice is leaving for the Middle East on Friday in an effort to convince leaders of nations there that a defeat in Iraq would pose major dangers to their governments, including Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and other Arab nations.
 
American troops will also pursue a strategy of securing the borders of Iraq with Syria and Iran, nations Bush said provide sanctuary and support for Al Qaeda and other terrorists. The wide-ranging speech included a reference to preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons and consultations with Turkey over disputes in the border with Iraq – a veiled reference to the Kurdish situation in the relatively peaceful northern, Kurdish-controlled region of the nation.
 
Throughout his address, Bush said that violent acts and casualties would be inflicted on both Iraqis and U.S. and other troops in the nation. He referred to Iraq’s struggle as the “survival of a young democracy fighting for its life.”
 
Perhaps recalling his own premature “Mission Accomplished” speech on an aircraft carrier, Bush said that the war in Iraq will not end with surrender on a battleship, a reference to the Japanese surrender ceremonies in September 1945. He emphasized that the cause of the U.S. and its allies in Iraq is “noble and necessary” in the overall war on terror.