Bush could send up to 40,000 more US troops to Iraq

UNITED STATES: President George W. Bush could send up to 40,000 more US troops to Iraq when he unveils his revised Iraq policy, US media said Thursday.

Reports gave estimates of between 9,000 and 40,000 extra troops to be sent to Iraq, where military sources say there are currently some 130,000 US troops.

The move could be controversial as the Iraq war is increasingly unpopular with the US public.

CNN television said Bush is looking at sending 20,000-40,000 additional troops and that the announcement could come early next week. A "targeted increase in troop strength" is "an active subject of discussion," an unnamed senior administration official told CNN, adding that Bush was "significantly along in the process."

CBS News, citing US military sources, said Bush is preparing to send some 9,000 soldiers and marines into Iraq, with another 11,000 on alert in Kuwait and the United States.

Two army brigades of about 7,500 troops would go to Baghdad, while some 1,500 marines would be sent to the volatile Sunni western province of Al-Anbar, according to CBS.

Another army brigade would be on standby in Kuwait, and two more army brigades on standby in the United States, CBS reported.

The McClatchy Newspaper chain reported that Bush is considering sending three to four US combat brigades, or between 15,000 and 20,000 US troops. Meanwhile President Bush moved Thursday to shuffle top intelligence, diplomatic, and military aides tied to the Iraq conflict ahead of unveiling a retooled war-fighting strategy next week.

Bush also broke his silence on the outcry over Saddam Hussein's execution, saying he wished the hanging had "gone in a more dignified way," but stressing that the ousted dictator's death closed "a horrific chapter" in Iraq's history.

The US president said he had made clear, during a nearly two-hour videoconference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, that "we expect there to be a full investigation of what took place." "I wish, obviously, that the proceedings had gone in a more dignified way. But nevertheless, he was given justice; the thousands of people he killed were not," said Bush.

"I'll be ready to outline a strategy that will help the Iraqis achieve the objective of a country that can govern, sustain and defend itself sometime next week," he said after talks with visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Meanwhile twin car bombs killed 13 people in an upscale Baghdad neighborhood after a lull in violence during an Islamic holiday.

The explosions went off one after another at 10:30 a.m. Thursday in the Mansour neighbourhood, setting fire to a gas station and incinerating at least a half dozen cars. In addition to the dead, police said at least 25 people were wounded.

Firefighters sprayed streams of water on the wreckage as soldiers and civilians staggered around in a daze. "What do they want from us? What do they want from us?" one Iraqi soldier asked, referring to those behind the blasts. Blood pooled among scattered containers for propane and kerosene, near where tea cups lay toppled on a blanket spread over wood crates.

Earlier Iraq postponed executing two of Saddam Hussein's henchmen amid international pressure following the ousted dictator's bungled and much criticised hanging.

Authorities detained two justice ministry guards for questioning in connection with the secret filming of the former dictator's final moments, but neither has been charged, said Shiite deputy Sami al-Askari.

The former Saddam aides who were to be hanged Thursday are Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti, Saddam's half brother and former intelligence chief, and Awad Ahmed al-Bandar, the head of a revolutionary court.

A senior official from Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's office, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the execution was postponed "due to international pressure."

Baha al-Araji, an influential Shiite lawmaker from radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's parliamentary bloc, said: "I am sure it will be done on Sunday."

Askari said the executions would be carried out after the end of state holidays for the Eid al-Adha festival on Saturday. He did not give a precise date.

Washington, Friday, AFP,AP