1voice2006
12-20-2006, 11:26 AM
http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/12/20/iraq.main/index.html
Bush: Army, Marines need to increase in size
POSTED: 10:11 a.m. EST, December 20, 2006
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Bush on Wednesday said he thinks the U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps need to be increased in size.
"We have an obligation to ensure our military is capable of sustaining this war over the long haul, and performing the many tasks that we ask of them," Bush told a news conference in Washington.
"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.
His remarks came as new U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates arrived Wednesday in Baghdad on an unannounced visit to meet with military leaders and other officials.
The visit came as President Bush appeared to say for the first time that the United States is not winning the war in Iraq, adopting the view of Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Bush told The Washington Post in Wednesday's editions that "you know, I think an interesting construct that Gen. Pace uses is, 'We're not winning, we're not losing.' "
Bush also said in the Post interview that he plans to expand the overall size of the U.S. military and is considering a short-term surge in troops in Iraq. The president is holding a news conference at 10 a.m. ET Wednesday. (Full story (http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/12/19/bush.troops/index.html))
Bush 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.
Gates met Wednesday with Gens. John Abizaid, top U.S. commander in the Middle East, and George Casey, the top general in Iraq.
"We discussed the obvious things," Gates told reporters after meeting with the generals, according to The Associated Press. "We discussed the possibility of a surge and the potential for what it might accomplish."
The defense chief was scheduled to meet Thursday with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.
As he headed for Iraq, accompanied by Pace, Gates said the trip's purpose was to "go out, listen to the commanders, talk to the Iraqis and see what I can learn. ... I expect to learn a lot."
http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/12/19/bush.troops/index.html
Bush: 'We do need to increase our troops'
POSTED: 9:04 p.m. EST, December 19, 2006
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Bush asked his new secretary of defense to draw up plans to increase the overall size of the Army and the Marines, according to an interview with the president published Tuesday in the Washington Post.
"I'm inclined to believe that we do need to increase our troops -- the Army, the Marines," Bush said.
"And I talked about this to Secretary Gates and he is going to spend some time talking to the folks in the building, come back with a recommendation to me about how to proceed forward on this idea." (Watch debate on troop level (http://javascript%3cb%3e%3c/b%3E:cnnVideo('play','/video/us/2006/12/19/starr.wh.vs.joint.chiefs.reut','2007/01/02');) http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/.element/img/1.5/main/icon_video.gif (http://javascript%3cb%3e%3c/b%3E:cnnVideo('play','/video/us/2006/12/19/starr.wh.vs.joint.chiefs.reut','2007/01/02');))
Senior administration officials said the timing of the president's comments is connected with Washington's oncoming budget season, and that the president intends for such plans to be part of the fiscal 2008 budget. (War spending to approach record (http://money.cnn.com/2006/12/19/news/economy/iraq_costs.reut/index.htm?cnn=yes))
But the comments also come amid increasing warnings from officials and experts that the U.S. military is stretched too thin to cope with the stresses of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"It is an accurate reflection that this ideological war we're in is going to last for a while, and that we're going to need a military that's capable of being able to sustain our efforts and to help us achieve peace," Bush told the Post.
Democratic Rep. Ike Skelton of Missouri, the incoming chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said Tuesday that the military is "bleeding." (Watch concern over military (http://javascript%3cb%3e%3c/b%3E:cnnVideo('play','/video/politics/2006/12/19/todd.iraq.politics.cnn','2007/01/02');) http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/.element/img/1.5/main/icon_video.gif (http://javascript%3cb%3e%3c/b%3E:cnnVideo('play','/video/politics/2006/12/19/todd.iraq.politics.cnn','2007/01/02');))
"The stretching and the straining of the troops is serious," he said. " ... I think we have to put on a tourniquet and strengthen the forces. I think that will be a major part of our early work."
Bush disagreed with former Secretary of State Colin Powell, who said the U.S. military was "broken," on CBS' "Face the Nation" Sunday.
Bush reacted to Powell's statement, saying, "I've heard the word, 'stressed,' ... We need to reset our military. There's no question the military has been used a lot.
"And the fundamental question is, will Republicans and Democrats be able to work with the administration to assure our military and the American people that we will position our military so that it is ready and able to stay engaged in a long war?"
In addition to the overall troop strength, the president is considering whether to send as many as 30,000 or 40,000 additional troops into Iraq on a short-term basis to secure the Baghdad area -- a plan supported by GOP presidential hopeful Sen. John McCain of Arizona.
McCain supports an increase in overall troop size.
Meanwhile, Democratic Rep. John Murtha of Pennsylvania, said on CNN's "The Situation Room" that the United States has already lost the Iraq war.
"Militarily we have lost -- there is no question about it, we cannot win this militarily," the lawmaker said.
Bush: Army, Marines need to increase in size
POSTED: 10:11 a.m. EST, December 20, 2006
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Bush on Wednesday said he thinks the U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps need to be increased in size.
"We have an obligation to ensure our military is capable of sustaining this war over the long haul, and performing the many tasks that we ask of them," Bush told a news conference in Washington.
"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.
His remarks came as new U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates arrived Wednesday in Baghdad on an unannounced visit to meet with military leaders and other officials.
The visit came as President Bush appeared to say for the first time that the United States is not winning the war in Iraq, adopting the view of Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Bush told The Washington Post in Wednesday's editions that "you know, I think an interesting construct that Gen. Pace uses is, 'We're not winning, we're not losing.' "
Bush also said in the Post interview that he plans to expand the overall size of the U.S. military and is considering a short-term surge in troops in Iraq. The president is holding a news conference at 10 a.m. ET Wednesday. (Full story (http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/12/19/bush.troops/index.html))
Bush 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.
Gates met Wednesday with Gens. John Abizaid, top U.S. commander in the Middle East, and George Casey, the top general in Iraq.
"We discussed the obvious things," Gates told reporters after meeting with the generals, according to The Associated Press. "We discussed the possibility of a surge and the potential for what it might accomplish."
The defense chief was scheduled to meet Thursday with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.
As he headed for Iraq, accompanied by Pace, Gates said the trip's purpose was to "go out, listen to the commanders, talk to the Iraqis and see what I can learn. ... I expect to learn a lot."
http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/12/19/bush.troops/index.html
Bush: 'We do need to increase our troops'
POSTED: 9:04 p.m. EST, December 19, 2006
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Bush asked his new secretary of defense to draw up plans to increase the overall size of the Army and the Marines, according to an interview with the president published Tuesday in the Washington Post.
"I'm inclined to believe that we do need to increase our troops -- the Army, the Marines," Bush said.
"And I talked about this to Secretary Gates and he is going to spend some time talking to the folks in the building, come back with a recommendation to me about how to proceed forward on this idea." (Watch debate on troop level (http://javascript%3cb%3e%3c/b%3E:cnnVideo('play','/video/us/2006/12/19/starr.wh.vs.joint.chiefs.reut','2007/01/02');) http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/.element/img/1.5/main/icon_video.gif (http://javascript%3cb%3e%3c/b%3E:cnnVideo('play','/video/us/2006/12/19/starr.wh.vs.joint.chiefs.reut','2007/01/02');))
Senior administration officials said the timing of the president's comments is connected with Washington's oncoming budget season, and that the president intends for such plans to be part of the fiscal 2008 budget. (War spending to approach record (http://money.cnn.com/2006/12/19/news/economy/iraq_costs.reut/index.htm?cnn=yes))
But the comments also come amid increasing warnings from officials and experts that the U.S. military is stretched too thin to cope with the stresses of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"It is an accurate reflection that this ideological war we're in is going to last for a while, and that we're going to need a military that's capable of being able to sustain our efforts and to help us achieve peace," Bush told the Post.
Democratic Rep. Ike Skelton of Missouri, the incoming chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said Tuesday that the military is "bleeding." (Watch concern over military (http://javascript%3cb%3e%3c/b%3E:cnnVideo('play','/video/politics/2006/12/19/todd.iraq.politics.cnn','2007/01/02');) http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/.element/img/1.5/main/icon_video.gif (http://javascript%3cb%3e%3c/b%3E:cnnVideo('play','/video/politics/2006/12/19/todd.iraq.politics.cnn','2007/01/02');))
"The stretching and the straining of the troops is serious," he said. " ... I think we have to put on a tourniquet and strengthen the forces. I think that will be a major part of our early work."
Bush disagreed with former Secretary of State Colin Powell, who said the U.S. military was "broken," on CBS' "Face the Nation" Sunday.
Bush reacted to Powell's statement, saying, "I've heard the word, 'stressed,' ... We need to reset our military. There's no question the military has been used a lot.
"And the fundamental question is, will Republicans and Democrats be able to work with the administration to assure our military and the American people that we will position our military so that it is ready and able to stay engaged in a long war?"
In addition to the overall troop strength, the president is considering whether to send as many as 30,000 or 40,000 additional troops into Iraq on a short-term basis to secure the Baghdad area -- a plan supported by GOP presidential hopeful Sen. John McCain of Arizona.
McCain supports an increase in overall troop size.
Meanwhile, Democratic Rep. John Murtha of Pennsylvania, said on CNN's "The Situation Room" that the United States has already lost the Iraq war.
"Militarily we have lost -- there is no question about it, we cannot win this militarily," the lawmaker said.