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Iraqi Prime Minister Tells Gates He'll Let U.S. Decide on Troop 'Surge'
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Asked later about his breakfast with the soldiers, Gates said he asked for their advice, and "they were not hesitant to give it." He dodged the question raised by their call for a boost in troop levels, saying, "Like most people on the front lines in a battle, they'd always like to have more forces."
There are about 140,000 U.S. soldiers in Iraq, and recently there has been an intense discussion inside the Bush administration about whether to increase that by roughly 30,000 troops for six months, to try to bring security to Baghdad.
"Some say 140,000 troops is quite enough to secure Iraq," said Askari, the Shiite politician allied with Maliki. "The problem is not in the number but in the way the security plan is conducted. The concept of trying to balance between a majority and minority in Iraq, and doing plans only if the minority accepts, is the issue. Some see this as the main problem with the plan. As long as the Americans don't change this tactic, adding more troops won't matter."
Other Shiite politicians at the meeting with Maliki said U.S. and Iraqi commanders should decide whether to increase U.S. troop levels, Askari said.
Late Thursday, the Associated Press reported that Sadr had agreed to allow his supporters to return to their positions in the government and end a three-week boycott of the government begun to protest Maliki's meeting with Bush last month. Nassar al-Rubaie, head of Sadr's parliamentary bloc, denied that account.
Askari said members of the Shiite alliance, a coalition of Shiite groups that leads the government, are planning to meet with Sadr to try to persuade him to end the boycott. Others want to take stronger action and demand that he denounce the Mahdi Army's involvement in sectarian strife.
"We have to solve this for good," Askari said. "We have to have him denounce the militias for good." He added that the meeting would dovetail with Maliki's effort to persuade Sadr to lay down his arms, provided the U.S. accepts the prime minister's security plan.
But Askari said it was still unclear whether Sadr would meet with the Shiite alliance members.
