Gates: U.S. Commanders Wary of Iraq Troop Plan

US Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Defense Secretary Robert Gates walking outside the Mulitnational Corps-Iraq headquarters

BAGHDAD, Iraq Dec 20, 2006 (AP)— Defense Secretary Robert Gates found American commanders wary of a proposal to rush more U.S. troops to Iraq as he visited the war-ravaged country Wednesday.

President Bush is considering that idea and others in his search for a fresh path in a 3 1/2-plus year war that has no end in sight and has lost the support of the American public.

On just his third day in charge of the Pentagon, Gates made the unannounced trip with the administration under intense pressure to forge a new strategy and just hours after the president conceded, for the first time, that the U.S. is not winning the conflict.

After meeting with top U.S. generals at Camp Victory, Gates acknowledged concerns that rushing thousands more American troops to the battlefront could allow the Iraqis to slow their effort take control of the country. He said no decisions have been made.

"It's clearly a consideration," Gates said of how an infusion of American troops might affect Iraqi leaders. "I think that the commanders out here have expressed a concern about that."

Read the rest at ABC News

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