Bush team grilled over Iraq plan

Democrats and some moderate Republicans yesterday hammered President George W. Bush's plan to send more US troops to Iraq, leaving the White House increasingly isolated in its decision to deepen American involvement in the unpopular war.

Mr Bush and his top military and diplomatic team struggled to convince a hostile Democratic-led Congress and a skeptical public that sending 21,500 extra troops to help the beleaguered Iraqi government regain control of Baghdad would work.

"It's important for our citizens to understand that as tempting as it might be, to understand the consequences of leaving before the job is done," Mr Bush told army personnel and their families in Fort Benning, Georgia, a day after unveiling his revised Iraq strategy. Facing a grilling by lawmakers on Capitol Hill, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice insisted that Mr Bush's plan would put more pressure on Iraqis to take over their own security, vital to any eventual US military pullback.

Democrats who want a phased withdrawal from Iraq to start in four to six months were unswayed, and wasted no time before lambasting Mr Bush's plan for additional forces.