Troop Surge Announced
Troop Surge Announced
January 10, 2007
President George W. Bush announced a change in policy in the Iraq war called the “troop surge”. The troop surge, also known as the “new way forward”, is the phrase applied to the deployment of over 20,000 troops to Iraq, or five extra brigades, to aid the soldiers already there and increase America’s military strength in the area. In a televised speech, The President explained that it was necessary to have a spontaneous surge in the strength of the United States to bring a swift end to the war. He also restated the objective of the war, being to create a “…unified, democratic, federal Iraq that govern itself, defend itself, and sustain itself, and is an ally in the War on Terror”. This action was met with criticism from the Democratic Party, which had gained a majority in both houses of Congress in the 2006 election. The general public had expected the Democratic majority to help reduce or end military action in Iraq, though the troop surge proved the opposite. The Republican Party had a more positive view of the troop surge. They in fact used the nobler name “the New Way Forward”, and was regarded as a way for the republicans to resist the democratic agenda of the congress, by initiating the exact opposite of the Democrats’ goals.
The details of the brigades are as follows:
January 10, 2007
President George W. Bush announced a change in policy in the Iraq war called the “troop surge”. The troop surge, also known as the “new way forward”, is the phrase applied to the deployment of over 20,000 troops to Iraq, or five extra brigades, to aid the soldiers already there and increase America’s military strength in the area. In a televised speech, The President explained that it was necessary to have a spontaneous surge in the strength of the United States to bring a swift end to the war. He also restated the objective of the war, being to create a “…unified, democratic, federal Iraq that govern itself, defend itself, and sustain itself, and is an ally in the War on Terror”. This action was met with criticism from the Democratic Party, which had gained a majority in both houses of Congress in the 2006 election. The general public had expected the Democratic majority to help reduce or end military action in Iraq, though the troop surge proved the opposite. The Republican Party had a more positive view of the troop surge. They in fact used the nobler name “the New Way Forward”, and was regarded as a way for the republicans to resist the democratic agenda of the congress, by initiating the exact opposite of the Democrats’ goals.
The details of the brigades are as follows:
- -2nd Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division: 3,447 troops. Deployed to Baghdad in January
- -4th Brigade, 1st Infantry Division: 3,447 troops. Deployed to Baghdad in February
- -3rd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division: 3,784 troops. Deployed to southern Baghdad Belts in March
- -4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division: 3,921 troops. Deployed to Diyala province in April
- -2nd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division: 3,784 troops. Deployed to the southeast of Baghdad in May