Bush seeks more multinational troops for Iraq
More multinational troops are needed to secure occupied Iraq, and the UN has a “responsibility” to enable such a move, US President George W Bush said today.
Mr Bush made the call in a presidential address to the nation, adding that the US operations in Iraq and Afghanistan would require a further $87bn (€78bn).
He acknowledged disagreements within the UN before the war, but added: “We cannot let past differences interfere with present duties.”
The address came amid growing disquiet in the US about the cost of the operation and the growing list of coalition casualties.
Hours earlier two missiles missed a US warplane taking off in Baghdad. There are daily attacks on US troops, with nearly 300 killed so far.
Last month, the UN’s Baghdad base was ripped apart in a bomb attack and a car bomb in Najaf killed a top Shiite cleric and nearly 100 others.
Mr Bush said US commanders had requested a third international division to bolster security in Iraq – which he described as the “central front” in the so-called “War on Terror”.
Speaking from the White House, he said: “We will do whatever is necessary, we will spend whatever is necessary, to achieve this essential victory in the war on terror, to promote freedom, and to make our own nation more secure.”
He said the US now had three priorities in Iraq – “destroying the terrorists”, enlisting the support of other nations and handing power back to the Iraqi people.
“We are committed to expanding international cooperation in the reconstruction and security of Iraq, just as we are in Afghanistan,” he said.
“Our military commanders in Iraq advise me that the current number of American troops, nearly 130,000, is appropriate to their mission.
“In order to share the burden more broadly our commanders have requested a third multinational division to serve in Iraq.
“Some countries have requested an explicit authorisation of the UN Security Council before committing troops to Iraq.
“I recognise that not all of our friends agreed with our decision to enforce the Security Council resolutions and remove Saddam Hussein from power, yet we cannot let past differences interfere with present duties.
“Members of the United Nations now have an opportunity and a responsibility to assume a broader role in assuring that Iraq becomes a free and democratic nation.”
Currently there are 20,000 multinational troops in Iraq, in two divisions led by Britain and Poland.
In the speech, which lasted about 15 minutes, Mr Bush went on: “Our strategy In Iraq will require new resources. We have conducted a thorough assessment of our military and reconstruction needs in Iraq and also in Afghanistan.
“I will soon submit to Congress a request for $87bn (€78bn). The request will cover ongoing military and intelligence operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere.”
But there was no mention of a timetable for withdrawing US troops, the whereabouts of Saddam Hussein or of any discoveries of weapons of mass destruction.
Last week Washington set out a new draft UN resolution, which would see the creation of an international force led by the US and overseen by the UN. It also proposed a timetable for handing political control back to the Iraqi people.
But the plan – seen as a significant shift in US policy towards Iraq – won little support from France and Germany.
Meanwhile, during a visit to Iraq earlier this week US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said his immediate priority was to speed up the recruitment, training and deployment of former Iraqi officers to work alongside US forces.
