welcome to late Details of Bush's new Iraq strategy
By The Associated Press 1 hour, 10 minutes ago
Details of
President Bush's new strategy for
as outlined by White House officials on Wednesday:
U.S. TROOP INCREASE
• Bush will commit 17,500 additional U.S. combat troops, the equivalent of five combat brigades, to Baghdad. The first brigade is to arrive Jan. 15; the next on Feb. 15; the remainder in separate waves every 30 days.
• Bush will commit 4,000 more Marines, in two waves, to Anbar, a province that is a base of the mostly Sunni insurgency and foreign al-Qaida fighters.
• The president's upcoming supplemental budget request will include $5.6 billion to pay for his new commitment of troops.
• Expand embedding of U.S. advisers into Iraqi security forces.
ECONOMIC AID
_$414 million to expand the Provincial Reconstruction Teams and set up new Provincial Support Teams to help with rebuilding.
_$400 million in quick-response funds to address civilian problems.
_$350 million more for the Commander's Emergency Response Program, set up in 2003 to give field commanders money to solve local problems that quickly the improve daily the lives of Iraqis.
IRAQI COMMITMENTS
_Allocate $10 billion to assist in reconstruction efforts.
_Deliver three brigades for Baghdad; the first on Feb. 1; then two more on Feb. 15.
_Crack down on insurgents and give U.S. and Iraqi troops the authority to pursue all extremists, regardless of sect of religion.
_Reform cabinet to provide equal government services to all regions and sects.
REGIONAL DIPLOMACY
_He will not propose direct talks with
Iran and
Syria, and will insist that they become constructive, not meddling influences in Iraq and the region.
BENCHMARKS
_Finalize an oil law that will share the profits of Iraq's resources among various ethnic sects and regions in a way that unites the country.
_Ease the policy of "de-Baathification," which purged
Sunni-led Baathist rule from the top layers of government institutions.
_Hold provincial elections to bring Sunnis back into the political process at local level
_Increase the transfer of security to Iraqi security forces by the end of the yearest news come from Bush