Bush’s speech this evening

Fox News has a preview of some of the things the President will be addressing in tonight’s speech. Here’s a sneak peek:

WASHINGTON — President George W. Bush will tell the nation Wednesday night that he should have sent more troops to Iraq to fight the war during the earlier stages of the nearly four-year conflict, a senior administration official revealed.

Speaking from the Library — a White House room never before used by the president for a public address — Bush will also acknowledge that the rules of engagement were flawed and will seek support for a new strategy to win the unpopular war, presidential counselor Dan Bartlett said.

The new approach includes sending 21,500 additional U.S. troops — 17,500 to Baghdad and 4,000 to al Anbar province — to join the 132,000 already there. Their purpose will be to help “break the cycle” of violence to “allow for the type of breathing space that the Iraqis need to get the type of political and economic reconciliation we all know that’s necessary for that country to move forward,” Bartlett told FOX News.

“President Bush would not commit one additional troop to Baghdad if it weren’t based upon a new strategy with new outcomes to be expected,” Bartlett said. “And that requires two basic things … one, there has to be more Iraqi troops on the ground — what we saw last time is that the Iraqis made pledges to bring in Iraqi troops that didn’t materialize — and, two, and just as importantly, is that the rules of engagement, the places where these troops can go and actually conduct operations, have to be different.”

Read the rest here.

Democrats, anticipating Bush’s speech, are busy mulling over ideas to thwart the President’s plan to send more troops to Iraq, proving that even though the party in control has changed, they haven’t forgotten about how to be obstructionists.

Hat tip: Right Voices