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Special report: Tension escalates in Iraq

WASHINGTON, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President George W. Bush has decided on a temporary surge of additional forces into Iraq in an effort to bring sectarian violence in Baghdad under control, NBC News reported on Wednesday.

Quoting words from Bush administration insiders, the report said Bush is set to announce the decision next week.

While no one is talking specific numbers, military officials believe the surge will involve some 20,000 additional troops.

Most of the increase will be achieved by extending the deployments of those troops already in Iraq by 90 days and accelerating the deployments for troops scheduled to deploy by sending them into Iraq sooner.

Supporters of the surge plan believe that without adequate security, particularly in Baghdad, any progress in Iraq would be difficult if not impossible.

They also believe that once the level of violence is brought under control, the U.S. military could then conceivably concentrate on accelerating the training for Iraqi security forces and the turnover of more territory to the Iraqis.

But Bush administration officials stressed the military option is only one part of a larger, more comprehensive strategy.

The plan will also throw more U.S. money at Iraq for reconstruction and a jobs program, they said.

In addition, the administration will turn up the political heat by pressuring the Shiite-led Iraqi government to aggressively crack down on the Shiite militia, particularly the Mahdi Army led by Muqtada al-Sadr.

At the same time, it will appeal to moderate Sunnis to work harder to reach some kind of conciliation with the Shiite majority or risk being entirely shut out of any future government in Iraq.

However, the surge plan has many opposers. Some U.S. generals and many experts warned that a short-term surge in forces will not have any long-term effect on the violence in Iraq.

Even worse, they fear it will result in a dramatic increase in American casualties, just as the number of U.S. forces killed in the Iraq war has topped 3,000.

Any surge in the number of U.S. forces -- which Bush is expected to announce as part of his new strategy for Iraq as early as next Tuesday -- will run into stiff political opposition on Capitol Hill.

Democrats, who take control of both houses on Thursday, are already planning to call new Defense Secretary Robert Gates before the Senate Armed Services Committee late next week to explain, if not try to defend, the president's new plan.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 20 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President George W. Bush acknowledged for the first time on Tuesday that the United States is not winning the war in Iraq, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday.

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.

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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