Bush dispatching more than 20,000 troops to Iraq to quell escalating violence

WASHINGTON -- Unswayed by anti-war passions, President Bush said Wednesday he will send 21,500 additional U.S. forces to Iraq to break the cycle of violence and "hasten the day our troops begin coming home." He acknowledged making mistakes in earlier security efforts in Baghdad.\nThe troop buildup will push the American presence in Iraq toward its highest level and put Bush on a collision course with the new Democratic Congress. It also runs counter to advice from some generals.\nBush was to announce the buildup in a prime-time speech to the nation. Excerpts of his remarks were released in advance by the White House.\nThe president said Iraq must meet its responsibilities, too, but he put no deadlines on Baghdad to do so.\n"America's commitment is not open-ended," he said. "If the Iraqi government does not follow through on its promises, it will lose the support of the American people and it will lose the support of the Iraqi people."\nBush readily acknowledged making mistakes in previous efforts to quell the near-anarchy in Baghdad. "There were not enough Iraqi and American troops to secure neighborhoods that had been cleared of terrorists and insurgents," the president said. "And there were too many restrictions on the troops we did have."\nHe said Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki had promised that U.S. forces would have a free hand and that "political or sectarian interference will not be tolerated."\nBush's approach amounts to a huge gamble on al-Maliki's willingness -- and ability -- to deliver on promises he has consistently failed to keep: to disband Shiite militias, pursue national reconciliation and make good on commitments for Iraqi forces to handle security operations in Baghdad.\nAfter nearly four years of bloody combat, the speech was perhaps Bush's last credible chance to try to present a winning strategy in Iraq and persuade Americans to change their minds about the unpopular war, which has cost the lives of more than 3,000 members of the U.S. military as well as more than $400 billion.\nBush said that "to step back now would force a collapse of the Iraqi government. ... Such a scenario would result in our troops being forced to stay in Iraq even longer and confront an enemy that is even more lethal."\n"If we increase our support at this crucial moment and help the Iraqis break the current cycle of violence, we can hasten the day our troops begin coming home," he said.