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December 2, 2008 7:27:18 PM CST

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Bush Ordered Troop Surge Over Internal Opposition

Posted Aug 31, 08 10:46 AM CDT in World,  Politics 

(Newser) – President Bush’s 2007 addition of 20,000 troops in Iraq helped stabilize the country —but advisers didn’t support the idea until the situation there looked like “civil war,” in the CIA’s words. Instead, the Pentagon wanted to shift responsibilities to Iraqi troops; the State Department wanted to focus fighting elsewhere; and the US Iraq ambassador said a troop surge would hurt conditions there, the New York Times reports.

Military leaders were divided on the decision, with top commander George Casey against the surge while his second-in-command was for it. The GOP’s defeat in the 2006 midterm elections fueled concern about the continuing presence in Iraq. But Bush pushed for the move, and after a series of meetings, others warmed to the idea. “If the bicycle teeters, put our hand back on it,” he said.

Source New York Times

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A man passes by a US army soldier a as he patrols a street on the outskirts of Baqouba, the capital of Iraq's Diyala province, northeast of Baghdad, Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2008.   (AP Photo/Marko Drobnjakovic)
A US Army soldier secures a checkpoint at the wall that separates southern Sadr City from the north, in Baghdad, Iraq, in this Thursday, June 12, 2008 file photo.   (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
Condoleezza Rice at first did not favor the troop surge.   (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
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George W. Bush • Iraq war • US military • Pentagon • troop surge • State Department


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