Bush Calls for Increase in US Military Size Amid Escalating Violence in Iraq

Strategic Insights -

President George Bush has acknowledged that he has been taken aback by the eruption of sectarian violence in Iraq, and that it has been a difficult year. He said he had asked his new Defense Secretary, Robert Gates, to develop a plan to increase the size of the US army and marines after warnings from senior generals about the strain of repeated deployments in Afghanistan and Iraq. The announcement represents a repudiation of the ideal of a smaller and more professional military championed by former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

Key Takeaways:

  • President Bush has called for an increase in the size of the US military, specifically the army and marines, to address the strain of repeated deployments in Afghanistan and Iraq.
  • The increase in military size is expected to be up to 30,000 troops, with a focus on pacifying the restive Anbar province and clamping down on sectarian violence in Baghdad.
  • The Pentagon has announced the retirement of General John Abizaid, the commander of American forces in the Middle East, and General William Casey, the main commander in Iraq, giving a freer hand to Secretary Gates to try to craft a new strategy.
  • Secretary Gates made an unannounced visit to Baghdad to discuss the prospects of a troop surge with US military chiefs and Iraqi military and political leaders.
  • Iraqi Shia leaders, such as Moqtada al-Sadr and Abdel Aziz al-Hakim, have expressed concerns that the extra troops would merely provide more targets for gunmen.
  • President Bush has acknowledged the Pentagon's concerns and stated that there must be a specific mission that can be accomplished with the addition of more troops before a decision is made.
  • The President has expressed doubt about the strategy in Iraq, stating that "we're not winning, we're not losing," which is his first expression of doubt since the invasion nearly four years ago.

Statistics:

  • 30,000: the number of additional troops that could be sent to Iraq as part of the military increase.
  • 11: the number of people killed in a suicide car bombing in Baghdad that injured 30 others.
  • 4 years: the length of time since the US-led invasion of Iraq.
  • 30,000: the estimated number of US troops currently stationed in Iraq.

Sources:

  • "Bush calls for increase in US military size amid escalating violence in Iraq" by Suzanne Goldenberg, Baghdad Post.
  • guardian.co.uk/iraq
  • Washington Post, Oval Office interview with President Bush.