Washington – The first of up to 20,000 additional U.S. troops will move into Iraq by month’s end under President Bush’s new war plan, a senior defense official said Tuesday. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi pledged to hold a vote on the increase, which many Democrats oppose.
Details of a gradual military buildup emerged a day before Bush’s planned speech to the nation, in which he also will propose a bit over $1 billion to shore up the country’s battered economy and create jobs, said a second U.S. official.
Bush is expected to urge friendly Mideast countries to increase their aid to Iraq but will ignore the recommendation of the bipartisan Iraq Study Group that he include Syria and Iran in an effort to stanch Iraqi bloodshed nearly four years after the U.S. invasion, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the plan has not yet been announced.
Bush is expected to link the troop increase to promised steps by the Iraqi government to build up its own military, ease the country’s murderous sectarian tensions, increase reconstruction and enact a plan to distribute oil revenues among the country’s religious sects.
Even before he delivers his speech, Bush’s plan has drawn sharp criticism from the leaders of the new, Democratic-controlled Congress.
Jennifer Crider, a spokeswoman for Pelosi, said Tuesday night, “The House will vote on the president’s proposal.”
She said did not know when the vote would occur or what the legislation would include.
Bill would deny funding
Many Democrats are likely to oppose increasing troop levels in Iraq. Republicans would face a choice of supporting Bush on the one hand or siding with public opinion increasingly critical of the war. Senate Democrats also were planning to bring to the floor next week a nonbinding measure that would urge Bush not to send more troops.
Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., a longtime war critic, introduced legislation that would deny the president the billions needed to send more troops unless Congress agreed first. It was unclear whether the bill would ever reach the full Senate, but it could serve as a rallying point for critics.
The president met during the day with lawmakers, practiced his speech and briefed key foreign allies, including calls to the leaders of Britain, Australia and Denmark. Bush was expected to practice his speech a couple of more times before addressing the nation at 7 p.m. MST.
Under Bush’s plan, thousands of troops will be alerted that they may be needed in Iraq – including units already there whose service would be extended, or others that could be sent earlier than initially scheduled, said one official.
82nd Airbone unit first
Moving first into Iraq would be the 2nd Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division, which is now in Kuwait and poised to head quickly into the country, the defense official said. The brigade, numbering about 3,500 troops, is based at Fort Bragg, N.C.
Other units, including Marine brigades in western Iraq, could be asked to extend their deployment. And the military buildup is also likely to include moving the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis into the Persian Gulf region, as a show of force and a warning to Iran and Syria.
There are already about 132,000 U.S. troops in Iraq.
According to the defense official, Bush also will discuss the need to address how often the Pentagon can tap the National Guard and reserves, although he may provide few details. And Bush will again endorse the need to increase the size of the Army and Marine Corps.
A key element of the plan will be the increased responsibilities taken on by the Iraqis. Bush is expected to link the troop increase to efforts by the Iraqi government to curb Shiite militias that have terrorized the Sunni minority, as well as moves to ease government restrictions on members of the late Iraqi leader Sad dam Hussein’s Baath Party.
