Critics slam possible Iraq troop boost

[rodeodance]

Critics slam possible Iraq troop boost

By JENNIFER LOVEN, Associated Press Writer 22 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - Days from announcing an overhaul of
Iraq strategy,
President Bush on Friday encountered a wall of criticism of the U.S. troop escalation that is expected to be the centerpiece of his new war plan.


Bush also reshuffled his war commanders, installing a new team to support the policies he will announce next week. Democrats and Republicans alike took aim at the expected increase in U.S. forces.

"It has to be significant and sustained. Otherwise do not do it," said Sen. John McCain (news, bio, voting record), a Republican presidential hopeful and Vietnam veteran who has been advocating a troop increase.

Those for going in the opposite direction spoke out, too.

"We are well past the point of more troops for Iraq," new House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., wrote in a letter to Bush a day after their party took the reins on Capitol Hill. Instead, Pelosi and Reid urged Bush to begin pulling troops out in four to six months.
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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070105/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_iraq