Bush asks for 8,100 more troops on top of original 21,000

March 14, 2007
Bush asks for 8,100 more troops on top of original 21,000

In addition, on March 10, Bush said he would send an additional 3,500 troops to Afghanistan as concerns mount about spring thaws bringing resurgent violence in the southern and eastern regions. In all last weekend, Bush announced an increase of at least 8,100 troops for both Iraq and Afghanistan.

The request for more troops, who are all to be in place by May, will bring the number in Iraq to nearly 160,000 – the highest it's been since January 2005, when there were 159,000 troops in Iraq. It's also the highest level since the invasion in March 2003.

"If you do straight-line math, it just presumes that everything is going to stay the same," says the official, who asked not to be named because he was expressing his own view and not necessarily that of the Pentagon. "Numbers are numbers: The level of effort in Iraq is going to reach 20 brigade combat teams."

Bush to add 8,200 troops to Iraq, Afghanistan

March 11, 2007
Bush to add 8,200 troops to Iraq, Afghanistan

ANCHORENA PARK, Uruguay — President Bush approved 8,200 more U.S. troops for Iraq and Afghanistan on top of reinforcements already ordered to those two countries, the White House said Saturday, a move that comes amid a fiery debate in Washington over the Iraq war.

The president is sending 4,700 troops to Iraq in addition to the 21,500 he ordered in January, mainly to provide additional support and to handle more Iraqi prisoners than anticipated. He also decided to send a 3,500-member brigade to Afghanistan to accelerate training of local forces, doubling his previous troop increase to fight a resurgent Taliban.

'Surge' needs up to 7,000 more troops

March 3, 2007
'Surge' needs up to 7,000 more troops

WASHINGTON — President Bush's planned escalation of U.S. forces in Iraq will require as many as 28,500 troops, Pentagon officials told a Senate committee Thursday.

Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England also told the Senate Budget Committee that it will be clear within months whether the so-called surge in forces has succeeded in helping secure Iraq.

Requests already have been granted for 2,400 support troops, said Adm. Edmund Giambastiani, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He said there are additional requests for 4,000 more.

Existing logistics bases, many of them in and around Baghdad, will limit the number of new support troops needed, Giambastiani said.

There are about 10,000 soldiers in Iraq now associated with the escalation, according to Lt. Col. Carl Ey, an Army spokesman. In all, there are about 140,000 U.S. troops now in Iraq.

White House Falsely Claims Iraq Study Group Supports Escalation Strategy

January 29, 2007
White House Falsely Claims Iraq Study Group Supports Escalation Strategy

The Iraq Study Group did say a "short-term redeployment" of more troops into Baghdad could be
part of a larger military, economic, and diplomatic plan. But both American Enterprise Institute's
Fred Kagan — the architect of the escalation plan — and Lt. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno — the
new U.S. ground commander in Iraq — have said the escalation could last anywhere between
18 months and 3 years. That's hardly "short-term."

Biden: No more than 20 senators will support surge

January 28, 2007
Biden: No more than 20 senators will support surge

WASHINGTON, Jan. 28 — Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr. of Delaware, the chairman of the Senate
Foreign Relations Committee, predicted today that no more than 20 senators would voice support for the president's troop increase in Iraq when the Senate debates resolutions opposing that plan.

Mr. Biden and other Democrats also angrily contested the Bush administration's suggestion that
their criticism of the war was emboldening the nation's enemies.

Poll: Bush's new Iraq strategy fails to rally public support

January 15, 2007
Poll: Bush's new Iraq strategy fails to rally public support

In a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll taken Friday through Sunday, more than 6 of 10 people back the idea of a non-binding congressional resolution expressing opposition to Bush's plan to commit an
additional 21,500 U.S. troops to Iraq.

Even so, by 51% to 36%, those surveyed have more confidence in congressional Democrats
to handle Iraq than in the president.

Anti-Surge Measure to Have Bipartisan Stamp

January 17, 2007
Anti-Surge Measure to Have Bipartisan Stamp

WASHINGTON, Jan. 16 — Senator Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, an outspoken Republican critic of the administration's Iraq policy, will join two leading Democrats in introducing a resolution opposing President Bush's buildup of troops in Iraq, putting a bipartisan stamp on the looming
Congressional showdown over the war.

Lawmakers and aides said Mr. Hagel had been consulting for the past few days with the two
Democrats, Senators Joseph R. Biden Jr. of Delaware, chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, and Carl Levin of Michigan, chairman of the Armed Services Committee, to develop the wording of the resolution, which could be introduced as early as Wednesday.

U.S. Comptroller: Surge Costs Don't Add Up

January 15, 2007
U.S. Comptroller: Surge Costs Don't Add Up

It is unclear what much of the $5.6 billion is to be spent on, Walker said. Walker and others have
complained that tens of billions of dollars are spent on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan annually
with little explanation of what the money is spent on.

The wars have been funded largely through emergency supplemental appropriations, but the
requests provide Congress with scant detail on spending.