Military Deployment

The leading advocates of an increase in U.S. forces in Iraq warned President Bush on Friday that any buildup lasting less than 18 months was doomed to fail, and urged the White House to avoid compromises that would scale back the plan. The hard line taken by such backers as Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and retired Army Gen. Jack Keane comes as the Bush administration continues to debate the size and the scope of an expected troop increase.

Two months ago, the nation's voters handed both houses of Congress to the Democrats in an election that reflected deep discontent with the war in Iraq. This week, President Bush is responding to voters' message -- by preparing to escalate the U.S. military commitment in Iraq with a "surge" that would add thousands of troops. That might sound paradoxical, but aides say Bush's willingness to send more troops makes sense based on two beliefs that have long guided his war strategy.

As a onetime prisoner of war during Vietnam and decorated Navy officer, Sen. John McCain has based much of his political persona on his staunch support for the military and his consummate credibility on national security. But as the Arizona Republican prepares to mount a White House campaign, he is putting those military bona fides on the line -- aggressively backing an unpopular plan to increase the number of U.S.

The nation's top military officials, expecting President Bush to order an increase in the size of the force in Iraq, have concluded that such a buildup would require them to reverse Pentagon policy and send the Army's National Guard and Reserve units on lengthy second tours in Iraq, Defense Department officials said Monday. Under Pentagon policy, Guard and Reserve units have been limited to 24 months of mobilization for the Iraq war.

President Bush began a weeklong hard sell of his new Iraq policy Monday, meeting with groups of senators at the White House in an effort to convince them that the best way to bring U.S. troops home from Iraq is to send more, at least for a while. Some said the president accomplished that goal; others said he did not. "Iraq is the central front in the global war against radical Islamic terrorism.

As they prepare for weeks of oversight hearings on the war in Iraq, Democratic congressional leaders are ruling out funding cuts to force President Bush to withdraw American troops. But such cuts would hardly be unprecedented. Since the early 1970s, Congress has intervened in at least five foreign conflicts on three continents by dictating what U.S. forces could do or how long they stay.

Is it a "surge?" Is it an "escalation?" Is it harmless semantics? Is it disingenuous spin? One thing is clear: Using the word "surge" to describe President Bush's forthcoming plan for reshaping U.S. efforts in Iraq has ignited a fiery political brouhaha. The plan, which Bush is scheduled to unveil today, is widely expected to include a proposal for increasing the number of American troops in Iraq. And the increase has been widely referred to by Pentagon officials and others as a "surge."

President Bush spent hours Tuesday practicing in front of cameras, preparing to make his case for increasing the U.S. military commitment in Iraq in a prime-time address to the nation tonight, even as congressional Democrats readied legislation to block any increase in the number of troops.

Mexico deployed thousands of soldiers to military bases near here Wednesday to crack down on drug gangs responsible for violence in the tourist resort. A column of army trucks, Humvees and armored vehicles brought about 2,000 troops to Guerrero state, a major marijuana- and opium poppy-growing region.

President Bush's new plan to stabilize Iraq relies on these main elements to succeed: the addition of more than 20,000 U.S. troops, plus the commitment of more Iraqi security forces and a newly energized Iraqi government. Bush and his aides say they are confident that putting more American troops on the streets of Baghdad can help turn Iraq around. What they don't know, officials add, is whether the Iraqi government will do its part.