Gates Visits Iraq to Discuss More Troops

Defense Secretary Robert Gates speaks at the Pentagon, Monday, Dec. 18, 2006 following his swearing in ceremony. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari) (Haraz N. Ghanbari - AP)

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- New Defense Secretary Robert Gates, in an unannounced trip to the battlefront, discussed a possible infusion of more U.S. troops into Iraq with American commanders on Wednesday but said no decisions have been made.

On just his third day in his post, Gates journeyed to Iraq armed with a mandate from President Bush to help forge a new Iraq war strategy. His goal is get advice from his top military commanders on a new strategy for the increasingly unpopular, costly and chaotic war _ a conflict that Bush conceded Tuesday the U.S. is not winning.

"We discussed the obvious things," Gates told reporters after meeting with top U.S. generals. "We discussed the possibility of a surge and the potential for what it might accomplish."

His trip so soon after taking office underscored the Bush administration's effort to be seen as energetically seeking a new path in the conflict.

Gates said he was only beginning the process of determining how to reshape U.S. policy in the war. He said before making final decisions, he would also confer with top Iraqi officials about what the future American role in the country should be.

In Washington, Bush acknowledged he is considering sending more troops to Iraq but said he had yet to make up his mind.

"I will tell you we're looking at all options. And one of those options, of course, is increasing more troops," Bush said.

Bush also said he is ready to boost the overall size of the U.S. military, following recent complaints by top generals that the forces have been stretched too thin by the worldwide campaign against terrorists. He used no figures, but said he was asking Gates to produce a plan for the expansion.

Gates said he was just starting to study that idea, but said he was concerned about the military's potential ability to deploy if needed for possible confrontations with North Korea and Iran and to respond to catastrophic natural disasters.

Gates spoke to reporters after meeting with commanders, including Army Gen. John Abizaid, commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East; Gen. George Casey, the top commander in Iraq; and Army Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno, in charge of day-to-day operations in Iraq.

Abizaid and Casey have both raised questions in the past about the value of sending thousands of extra troops into Iraq, where violence has been rising in recent months.

Several top U.S. commanders have been wary of even a short-term troop increase, saying it might only bring a temporary respite to the violence while confronting the U.S. with shortages of fresh troops in the future.