Bush asking for mo’ troops
Surge 2.0. More troops to Iraq.
———
From CNN.com:
President Bush said Sunday that at least 4,400 additional troops he is sending to Iraq - more than he had originally stated in January would be deployed - will serve in support roles only.
Speaking from Colombia, a stop on his Latin America tour, Bush urged Congress to approve funding for the Iraq war “without any strings attached.”
Two months ago, after an extensive review, Bush ordered 21,500 additional American soldiers to Iraq to help calm Baghdad and the troubled Anbar Province.
“Those combat troops are going to need, you know, some support, and that’s what the American people are seeing in terms of Iraq — the support troops necessary to help the reinforcements do their job,” Bush said at a news conference Sunday with Colombian President Alvaro Uribe.
Bush also expressed skepticism about pledges from Iran and Syria in support of stabilizing Iraq. The two nations, as well the United States and others, took part in an international conference in Baghdad on Saturday aimed in part at preventing violence from engulfing the Middle East.
“If they really want to help stabilize Iraq, there are things for them to do, such as cutting off weapons flows and or the flow of suicide bombers into Iraq,” Bush said of the two U.S. foes in the Middle East.
