US President George W. Bush said Tuesday that he plans to expand
the size of the US military to meet the challenges of "a long-term
global war against terrorists."
In an interview with The Washington Post at the White
House, Bush said it was a response to warnings that sustained
deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan have stretched the armed forces
to near the breaking point.
He said he has instructed newly sworn-in Defense Secretary
Robert Gates to report back to him with a plan to increase ground
forces.
The president gave no estimates about how many troops may be
added but indicated that he agreed with suggestions in the Pentagon
and on Capitol Hill that the current military is stretched too thin
to cope with the demands placed on it.
The decision comes at a time when he is rethinking his strategy
in Iraq and considering, among other options, a short-term surge in
troop levels to try to secure violence-torn Baghdad.
In describing his decision, Bush tied it to the broader struggle
against extremists around the world rather than Iraq
specifically.
"It is an accurate reflection that this ideological war we're in
is going to last for a while and that we're going to need a
military that's capable of being able to sustain our efforts and to
help us achieve peace," he said.
Bush said he has not yet made a decision about a new strategy
for Iraq and would wait for Gates to make a trip to Iraq to assess
the situation for himself.
(Xinhua News Agency December 20, 2006)
