Schwarzenegger backs Bush on more troops for Iraq

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and President Bush may be at odds on a number of issues but the two Republicans agree that more U.S. troops are needed in Iraq.

"I think we should give it everything," Schwarzenegger said when asked about a troop increase in an interview to be aired on Sunday on ABC's "This Week with George Stephanopoulos."

"We should give it everything in order to be victorious," said Schwarzenegger, who has split with Bush on issues such as stem-cell research, abortion rights and global warming.

Bush plans to send more than 21,000 additional troops to Iraq to help quell the country's sectarian violence. But he is running into stiff resistance from Democrats who control Congress and some Republican lawmakers.

Schwarzenegger said he does not want the United States to "pull out of this war as losers" because it would be disastrous for the Middle East.

But the Hollywood icon said he supports a timeline for withdrawing U.S. troops to prod Iraq's government into action.

Schwarzenegger's remarks come days after he urged California's Democrat-led legislature to help him usher in an era of "post-partisan" politics in the state capital of Sacramento.