Gates in Iraq to assess progress in U.S. troop "surge"
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Defense Secretary Robert Gates arrived in Baghdad on Friday to assess a U.S. troop buildup and press Iraq's government to move faster in passing laws that Washington views as critical to reconciling Iraqis.
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President Bush reported progress in Iraq Friday, after hearing Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki brief him on steps being taken by the government in Baghdad. "We appreciate the fact that he's beginning to meet the benchmarks that he set out for his people," Bush said.
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As sectarian violence continues, the US military cautions that results of its Baghdad troop 'surge' will take time.
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The success of the surge has blunted the force of the war in the presidential campaign, but that may change as a new assessment of troop levels is on the way.
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The Pentagon could boost the number of additional forces being sent to Iraq, adding as many as 3,000 troops to the 21,500 being deployed under the president's war plan, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Tuesday.
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The Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday will hear a much-anticipated report on whether Iraq is making progress on meeting political and security benchmarks set by Congress in May.
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Robert Gates, seemingly clinching confirmation as the new secretary of defense, said Tuesday the United States is not winning in Iraq and he's confident President Bush will listen to his ideas about forging a new war strategy.
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One day after President Bush announced a limited drawdown of U.S. troops from Iraq by next summer, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said yesterday that it might be possible to reduce U.S. forces there further over the course of next year, down to approximately 100,000 troops by the end of 2008.
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The U.S. military presence in Iraq will grow to 150,000 troops by next month, the highest level since the invasion last year.
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A September progress report on the U.S. troop increase in Iraq that President George W. Bush called an important moment for his war strategy is unlikely to be a "pivotal" assessment, officials now say.
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Robert Gates, U.S. President George W. Bush's choice to take over the Pentagon as the Iraq war grinds on, goes before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday for what is expected to be quick hearing ahead of likely Senate confirmation later this week.
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The top U.S. general and diplomat in Iraq are expected on Monday to argue against any major decrease in U.S. troop levels for now because this could undercut any progress made under the "surge" of forces into Iraq this year, a U.S. official said on Sunday.
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The White House report says most progress has been in the military realm, and will chide the Iraqi government for failing to capitalize on additional U.S. troops.
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Defense Secretary Robert Gates met his top military commanders in Iraq on Monday to discuss the pace of U.S. troop reductions, a day after militants killed more than 50 people in a spate of attacks.
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WASHINGTON, DECEMBER 2: The Pentagon will increase the number of US troops in Iraq to about 150,000, the highest level since the US occupation of Iraq began in the spring of 2003, in an effort to reduce violence during elections scheduled next month.
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Defense Secretary Robert Gates has dispatched a small Pentagon team to Iraq to review procedures regarding private contractors, after expressing "real concerns" about oversight, Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said Wednesday.
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Developments in Iraq on Tuesday: