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U.S. President George W. Bush holds his
traditional year-end news conference in the Indian Treaty Room of the
Eisenhower Executive Office Building at the White House complex in
Washington Dec. 20, 2006. Bush said Wednesday that a permanent increase of
the size of the U.S. military is necessary, but stopped short of saying if
he will send more troops to Iraq. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
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WASHINGTON, Dec. 20
(Xinhua) -- U.S. President George W. Bush said Wednesday that a permanent
increase of the size of the U.S. military is necessary, but stopped short of
saying if he will send more troops to Iraq.
Speaking at a year-end press conference to sum up his
government's job in 2006, Bush said he has asked Defense Secretary Robert Gates
to report to him as quickly as possible on plans to enlarge the size of the
military.
"I'm inclined to believe that we need to increase the
permanent size of both the United States Army and the United States Marines," he
said.
Bush also acknowledged that insurgents in Iraq had
made some "success" and thwarted U.S. efforts at "establishing security and
stability throughout the country" in 2006.
He said the United States will step up pressure on
the Iraqi government and pledged to work in bipartisan spirit after the
Democrats takes over the Congress in January.
Bush did not make it clear whether he would send more
troops in Iraq as media widely reported.
"I haven't made up my mind yet about more troops. I'm
listening to our commanders, the joint chiefs, people in and out of government,"
he said.
"We're looking at all options, and one of those
options of course is increasing more troops, but in order to do so there must be
a specific mission that can be accomplished with more troops, "said the
president.
He conceded that things have not gone well in Iraq,
but stepped back from the phrase "we are not winning" he used to describe the
situation there during an interview with The Washington Post Tuesday.
What he really meant, he said, was that things are
not succeeding as fast as he had thought.
"The enemies of liberty ... carried out a deliberate
strategy to foment sectarian violence between Sunnis and Shia. And over the
course of the year they had success,'' Bush said.
"Their success hurt our efforts to help the Iraqis
rebuild their country. They set back reconciliation and kept Iraq's unity
government and our coalition from establishing security and stability throughout
the country," he said.
Nevertheless, the president claimed that "I believe
that we're going to win in Iraq."
Bush said the most painful aspect of his presidency
"has been knowing that good men and women have died in combat. I read about it
every night."
But he added, "the sacrifice has been worth it. We
will accomplish our objective. We've got to adjust tactics to do so, insist the
Iraqis take more responsibility."
Bush said that he still believes he made the right
decision in removing Saddam Hussein from power.
"I also know it's the right decision for the American
people tostay engaged," he said.
Bush's remarks came as Robert Gates, the
newly-installed defense secretary, arrived Wednesday in Baghdad on an
unannounced visit to meet with military leaders and other officials.
The president has said he will reveal a new strategy
for Iraq next month after considering the report of the bipartisan Iraq Study
Group and consulting with Pentagon officials and others.
In other related developments, U.S. Central Command
confirmed Wednesday that its commander, Gen. John Abizaid, has officially put in
his retirement papers as top U.S. Mideast commander and will leave his post in
early 2007.
U.S. media said Abizaid's planned departure clears the way for new defense secretary Robert Gates to bring in his own commander, which Pentagon officials believe is a choice between generals who back Abizaid's drive to transfer security responsibilities to the Iraqi authorities and those arguing for a more aggressive U.S.-led counterinsurgency campaign.
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