USA: President Bush says U.S. to boost troop presence in Baghdad, as Iraqi PM Maliki visits Washington

President George W. Bush and Iraq's prime minister said on Tuesday (July 25) that more U.S. and Iraqi troops will go to Baghdad to try to slow sectarian violence in talks that exposed gaps between them on the Middle East. Bush, at a joint news conference with Maliki that lacked a great deal of warmth, said those going to Baghdad would be pulled from areas in Iraq that are deemed relatively free of violence. "Our strategy is to remain on the offense, including in Baghdad. Under the Prime Minister's leadership, coalition and Iraqi leaders are modifying their operational concept to bring greater security to the Iraqi capital. Coalition and Iraqi forces will secure individual neighbourhoods, will ensure the existence of an Iraqi security presence in the neighbourhoods, and gradually expand the security presence as Iraqi citizens help them root out those who instigate violence, " Bush said. The new security plan was an acknowledgment that a strengthening of Baghdad imposed by Maliki five weeks ago has been a failure, with hundreds of people killed in sectarian violence. It was unclear how the new plan would affect Pentagon hopes of reducing the U.S. troop deployment in Iraq by year's end, a move with an important political consideration given Republican efforts to maintain control of the U.S. Congress in November elections and the unpopularity of the war among many Americans. There are now 127,000 American troops in Iraq. A U.S. defense official said 400 soldiers, from an Army brigade held in reserve in Kuwait, will be sent into Iraq in the coming days to help free up other troops to go to Baghdad. Maliki said building up Iraq's security and military in terms of numbers and equipment "represents the fundamental base in order to stabilize the country." "We are determined to defeat terrorism, and the security plan for Baghdad has entered the second phase and it's achieving its objectives in hunting the terrorist networks and eliminating them. I have informed the President about the national reconciliation plan, which have launched in order to attract more Iraqi forces which have not engaged in the political process yet. This initiative represents, in addition to building the Iraqi armed forces, one of the initiatives that will contribute to choking terrorism and defeating terrorism in Iraq, " he said. The two leaders had what Bush called a "frank exchange" -- diplomatic parlance for a sharp disagreement -- over the conflict between Israel and Hizbollah in southern Lebanon. Maliki told the news conference he emphasized the importance of an immediate cease-fire, a position Bush refused to embrace. "We want to address the root causes of the violence in the area. And, therefore, our mission and our goal is to have a lasting peace, not a temporary peace, but something that lasts," Bush said. Bush has resisted multiple calls from Arab leaders for him to urge an immediate cease-fire, saying Hizbollah attacks on Israelis must be addressed. That position has basically bought time for Israel to carry out its campaign against Hizbollah. Maliki came to Washington having denounced Israel for the attacks while refusing to condemn Hizbollah, points that drew the ire of Democrats on Capitol Hill. Maliki's emergence to power prompted Bush to make a surprise visit to Baghdad June 13 and, along with the killing of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the al Qaeda leader in Iraq, spawned hopes among Americans that Iraq was changing for the better.

ITN Source | July 26, 2006

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