Editorial: Support builds for ‘surge’

Saturday, Dec. 30, 2006 | 7:03 a.m.

A surge in troop strength will likely be a part of the new strategy for Iraq that President Bush is expected to announce early next month. A major political obstacle to this option has been overcome by Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

Meeting with Bush after a quick trip to Iraq last week, Gates informed the president that Gen. George W. Casey would not oppose a surge as long as the additional troops were assigned for a definite purpose.

Casey is the ground commander in Iraq, and his backing of the plan is seen as an essential counterweight to a mostly skeptical Congress. Also endorsing a surge during Gates' visit was Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno, newly installed as commander of day-to-day operations in Iraq. Odierno replaced Lt. Gen. Peter Chiarelli, who had opposed adding more troops.

In the past, Casey and Gen. John Abizaid have opposed increases because the Iraq government will grow strong only in proportion to its reduced dependency on the United States. Abizaid, the top U.S. commander in the Middle East, is retiring in March and is now saying, when asked about troop levels, only that "all options are on the table."

If Bush recommends a surge - of up to 30,000 troops - he will be going against the advice not only of most members of Congress, but also of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, former Secretary of State Colin Powell and the Iraq Study Group.

It is worrisome that Bush might compound his error of invading Iraq by sending tens of thousands more troops into what is now a civil war between two religious groups, each with factions that see the U.S. as an enemy.

An Associated Press reporter recently asked dozens of Army combat troops fighting in Iraq their thoughts about a surge. Many were skeptical, including one sergeant who said, "Nothing's going to help. It's a religious war, and we're caught in the middle of it."

In our view, it is not wise to expand a war that most people now realize should not have been started.