Bush announces new policy on Iraq in televised address

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Source: CCTV.com | 01-11-2007 13:44

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US President George W. Bush has announced that more than 20,000 additional American soldiers will be sent to Iraq. This forms part of his new Iraq plan.

Bush said during a national address Wednesday evening that Iraq's situation was "unacceptable". He also told the American people that he had erred by failing to order a military buildup last year.

In a nationally-televised address, Bush said for the first time that he took responsibility for the mistakes made in Iraq.

Bush said, "The situation in Iraq is unacceptable to the American people and it is unacceptable to me. Our troops in Iraq have fought bravely. They have done everything we have asked them to do. Where mistakes have been made, the responsibility rests with me."

Bush stated that his country's commitment to Iraq is not open-ended. He said he will send some 21,500 extra US troops to Iraq to quell the country's near-anarchy.

Bush said, "America is to change our strategy to help Iraq to carry out the campaign. So I commit a more than 20,000 more American soldiers to Iraq."

Of the proposed additional troops, 4,000 would be deployed to the western Anbar province, with the remaining 17,500 sent to the Iraqi capital. This in an effort to step up security and help stem sectarian violence in the two areas. The first wave of troops could arrived in as early as five days.

As part of the plan, the Iraqi government would also deploy additional troops in Baghdad, with the first brigade to be in place by February 1.

Bush has called for 5.6 billion US dollars to fund the troop increase. He also called for an additional 1.2 billion dollars in new spending to finance rebuilding and employment programs in an effort to discourage Iraqis from joining the insurgency.

There are currently about 132,000 US soldiers in Iraq. More than 3,000 American military personnel have been killed since the were began in March 2003.

Editor:Du Xiaodan