President Bush said Tuesday he would grant Iraq’s request for more U.S. troops in Baghdad by moving forces from other parts of the country in an effort to curb terrorism in the capital.
“Obviously, the violencein Baghdad is still terrible, and, therefore, there need to be more troops,” Bush said in an East Room press conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. “There need to be more forces inside Baghdad who are willing to hold people to account.”
Maliki first made the request to U.S. commanders in Iraq, who seconded the request and sent it to Bush. The prime minister also asked for more equipment for Iraqi forces, a request Bush also approved.
Meanwhile, both leaders agreed to adjust a Baghdad security plan that was implemented six weeks ago.
“Conditions change inside a country,” Bush said. “And the question is — will we be nimble enough? Will we be able to deal with the circumstances on the ground? And the answer is, yes, we will.”
The two leaders avoided any public comments of their differences over the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. Maliki has criticized Israel’s military operations against the terrorist group in southern Lebanon, while Bush has emphasized Israel’s right to defend itself against unprovoked attacks by Hezbollah.
Maliki’s failure to condemn Hezbollah outraged congressional Democrats, some of whom called for a boycott or outright cancellation of the prime minister’s address to a joint session of Congress, which was scheduled for today.
“We hope that Prime Minister Maliki, if he is going to stand before us, speaking to a joint session of Congress, will make it clear that he condemns terrorism not only in Iraq, but also when it comes to Hezbollah,” said Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill.
Bush drew an analogy between terrorist attacks on Israel and Iraq.
“The terrorists are afraid of democracies, and what you’ve witnessed in Israel, in my judgment, is the act of a terrorist organization trying to stop the advance of democracy in the region,” he said. “And I believe that Iraq, in some ways, faces the same difficulty, and that is a new democracy is emerging and there are people who are willing to use terrorist techniques to stop it.”
