Bush Prepares for Showdown with Democrats

30,000 more US troops for Iraq | World | The Observer:

Iraqi PM reveals US crackdown


President set for showdown with Democrats as he pours in more soldiers

Peter Beaumont and Paul Harris in New York
Sunday January 7, 2007
The Observer

President Bush is to announce this week that up to 30,000 extra troops will be thrown into the battle for Baghdad. They will be part of a crackdown against insurgents and the largely Shia death squads who have brought Iraq to the brink of civil war.

The final shape of Bush's new strategy began to emerge yesterday in a series of leaks and statements in Washington and Baghdad ahead of his announcement, expected on Tuesday.

Word is leaking out about what President Bush will have to say to the American people this coming Wednesday. 30,000 more troops! McCain has been screaming for this since the beginning but what will be the "sign" that we can draw down? The idea that U.S. forces will just abandon Iraq is absurd. The senior Democrats know it. We still have bases in Germany and Japan. Yes "friendly" bases. The Iraqi government will ask the U.S. to set up "friendly" bases there as well.

Tags: world-news, iraq, bush, zz