Bush says no decision made on U.S. troops in Iraq

    BOGOR, Indonesia, Nov. 20 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President George W. Bush said here Monday that he has not made any decision on whether to increase or decrease the U.S. troops in Iraq.

    At a joint press conference with his Indonesian counterpart Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Bush said that he still wanted to hear some suggestions from the U.S. military, U.S. Defense Ministry in Pentagon and other sources in the field.

    "We haven't made decisions on troops increases or troops decreases yet," Bush said.  Full story

    Report: Pentagon faces three options in Iraq

    WASHINGTON, Nov. 20 (Xinhua) -- There are three basic military options in Iraq for the Pentagon to choose from: send in more troops, shrink the force but stay longer, or pull out, The Washington Post quoted a recent Pentagon review as saying on Monday.

    Officials who conducted the review are likely to recommend a combination of a small, short-term increase in U.S. troops and a long-term commitment to stepped-up training and advising of Iraqi forces, a suggestion to combine elements of the first two options, the report said.

    The third option, which calls for a swift withdrawal of U.S. troops, is unlikely to be approved by the Bush administration as it is likely to push Iraq directly into a full-blown and bloody civil war.  Full story

    Cheney says no troops withdrawal from Iraq

    WASHINGTON, Nov. 17 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney said on Friday that the U.S. forces would not "retreat" from Iraq.

    Addressing a powerful conservative lawyers' association, Cheney said U.S. military withdrawal from Iraq would encourage terrorist violence.  Full story