A Conversation With Adel Abdul Mahdi

As the Bush administration moved ahead last week with plans to send 21,500 additional troops to Iraq, Washington Post-Newsweek's Lally Weymouth sat down with Iraq's Shiite vice president, Adel Abdul Mahdi, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. They discussed the "surge" and the prospects for restoring order in Baghdad and beyond.

Many in the United States wonder if the situation in Iraq can be brought under control. Your own prime minister was not supportive in the past of President Bush's sending more troops.

What do you think of the president's plan to send additional troops? What are the chances this will work and what will your government do to help?

We both think, Americans and Iraqis, that Baghdad is a key issue. We have to succeed on that.

But will Bush's "surge" make a difference?

As Iraqis, we think we need more troops in Baghdad. It's up to the multinational forces to decide whether they need more troops.

You talk about multinational forces. But the U.S. administration is sending additional American troops. No one else is volunteering for the job. Are you for that or against it?

I am saying we need more troops in Iraq. Multinational forces are part [of that].

But you have to be for or against the United States sending an additional 20,000 men.

I am not a military man. I can't say if they need to deploy more troops in Baghdad.

You're saying if "they" want to. You mean if the United States wants to send more? That sounds like you don't really care.

I care, but it's a technical question. It's a military question.

But it's not a military question. Americans are going to die. Is it worth the sacrifice?