Bush Readies Iraq Surge
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
WASHINGTON — The first of up to 20,000 additional American troops will move into Iraq by month’s end under President Bush’s new war plan, a senior defense official said yesterday.
The speaker of the House, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, pledged to hold a vote on the increase, which many Democrats oppose.
Details of a gradual military buildup emerged a day before Mr. Bush’s planned speech to the nation, in which he also will propose a bit over $1 billion to shore up the country’s battered economy and create jobs, said a second American official. Even before he delivers his speech, Mr. Bush’s plan has drawn sharp criticism from Democratic eaders.
“Iraq is George Bush’s Vietnam,” Senator Kennedy said in a speech at the National Press Club yesterday. “As with Vietnam, the only rational solution to the crisis is political, not military.”
Mr. Kennedy lead the efforts to limit military aid to South Vietnam after American forces withdrew following the 1973 peace accords.
