Bush on January 10 announced that he would send 21,500 more troops to Iraq to halt violence, mainly around Baghdad.
General George Casey did not say how many troops arrived today. He said the deployments may not yield quick results, but added that he expected the situation in Iraq to improve through the summer and fall.
"Together, we and the Iraqis have committed sufficient reliable security forces here to ensure that we succeed," Casey said. "And finally, as with any plan, there are no guarantees of success, and it is not going to happen overnight. But with sustained political support and the concentrated efforts on all sides, I believe that this plan can work."
Speaking alongside Casey in Baghdad, U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad pledged that U.S. forces would pursue what he described as networks of Iranian and Syrian agents in Iraq.
Khalilzad also said that the troop surge set the stage for Iraqis to take over security operations for themselves.
(Reuters, AP)
On The Verge Of Civil War
The Imam Al-Mahdi Army on parade (epa)
HAS THE CONFLICT IN IRAQ BECOME A CIVIL WAR? Many observers have concluded that the tit-for-tat sectarian violence that emerged after the February 2006 bombing of a mosque in Samarra has become a full-blown civil war.... (more)
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THE COMPLETE PICTURE: Click on the image to view RFE/RL's complete coverage of events in Iraq and that country's ongoing transition.
