Bush to send more troops to Iraq, admits mistakes

By Steve Holland and Matt Spetalnick

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush told skeptical Americans on Wednesday he was dispatching about 21,500 extra U.S. troops to Iraq, and in a rare admission, said he made a mistake by not deploying more forces sooner.

"The situation in Iraq is unacceptable to the American people, and it is unacceptable to me," Bush said in a televised White House address. "Where mistakes have been made, the responsibility rests with me."

With American patience running thin over his handling of the war, Bush said he would put greater pressure on Iraqis to restore order in Baghdad and used blunt language to warn Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki that "America's commitment is not open-ended."

"If the Iraqi government does not follow through on its promises, it will lose the support of the American people, and it will lose the support of the Iraqi people," Bush said.

Bush said his new strategy, in which Iraqis will try to take responsibility for all 18 provinces by November rather than just three now, "will not yield an immediate end to suicide bombings" and other violence.

"The year ahead will demand more patience, sacrifice and resolve," he said.

He accused Iran and Syria of allowing use of their territory for terrorists and insurgents to move in and out of Iraq and vowed "we will interrupt the flow of support from Syria and Iran. And we will seek out and destroy the networks providing advanced weaponry and training to our enemies in Iraq."

Ahead of a visit to the Middle East by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Bush said Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan and Gulf states needed to understand that a U.S. defeat in Iraq "would create a new sanctuary for extremists -- and a strategic threat to their survival."

The president's fresh infusion of American troops into the nearly 4-year-old war -- 17,500 for Baghdad, 4,000 for restive Anbar province, was in defiance of Democrats who called it an escalation of the conflict.

Bush set no time limit for the new deployment.

The president faces a tough sell, after nearly four years of war and scenes of carnage that have undercut his argument that victory is possible in Iraq.

"Despite the warnings of his top generals, and the message sent by the American people, the president has again decided to go it alone. This is the wrong approach," said Democratic Sen. Patty Murray of Washington state.

AMERICANS UNEASY

A solid majority of Americans were opposed as well and many in his own Republican Party were uneasy about it if not outright against the troop increase.

"I oppose the troop surge in Baghdad because it is not a strategy for victory," said Minnesota Republican Sen. Norm Coleman.

Bush sought to justify the increase by saying the extra troops are needed to hold neighborhoods cleared of insurgents. He said if the Iraqi government collapsed, the United States would have to keep troops longer in Iraq.

"If we increase our support at this crucial moment and help the Iraqis break the current cycle of violence, we can hasten the day our troops begin coming home," he said.

He said Iraqi leaders must follow through on promises on approving an oil-sharing law and reforms aimed at a political reconciliation among warring groups, but gave no deadlines.

Democrats who saw their takeover of the U.S. Congress in November elections a signal from voters that it was time to start bringing troops home vowed to hold a symbolic vote on Bush's new policy in the House of Representatives and the Senate.

But there seemed no appetite at least in the short term for trying to cut off funding for the troop increase. Bush will ask Congress for $5.6 billion to fund the extra deployment and another $1.2 billion for a rebuilding and jobs program aimed at getting Iraqis jobs and keeping them from joining militias.

Addressing the mistakes that have led to an impression of failure in Iraq, Bush said previous attempts to secure Baghdad failed because "there were not enough Iraqi and American troops to secure neighborhoods that had been cleared of terrorists and insurgents" and the troops labored under too many restrictions.

Bush's admission was a rare acknowledgment of a mistake for this president. He said his military commanders had reviewed the new plan and assured him it would address the problems.

In Baghdad, Iraqis weary of sectarian death squads and insurgent bombs after the U.S.-led overthrow of Saddam Hussein voiced skepticism that more troops would help.

Police recovered the bodies of 60 people with gunshot wounds and signs of torture from various parts of Baghdad in the 24 hours to Wednesday evening, an Interior Ministry source said.

(Additional reporting by Matt Spetalnick, Susan Cornwell and Rick Cowan)