US President George Bush’s Iraq troop-boosting plan was headed straight into a political gale, seen defying popular dissatisfaction with the war and the new anti-war leaders of Congress.
“This proposal endangers our national security,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said, reading a joint statement from Democratic leaders few hours after Bush announced his new plan. Democrats said the new plan moves the American commitment in Iraq in the “wrong direction”, vowing a fierce battle in Congress against the military expansion.
Though admitting that his mistakes had cost the lives of over 3,000 American soldiers and hundreds o thousands of Iraqis, Bush decided to send nearly 22,000 more troops to the war-ravaged Arab country. Democrat leaders accused Bush of ignoring strong American opposition to the Iraq war.
Only few hours after Bush declared his plan, a new ABC /Washington Post poll showed that the public opining was broadly rejecting the troop surge. Barely three in 10 accept Bush’s assertion that a troop increase now will end the war more quickly. Two-thirds of those polled think the surge will not make much difference in the length of the conflict. Nearly 57 percent think the United States is losing the war while just 29 percent think its winning.