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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
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| Bush set to reveal Iraq strategy | Bush set to reveal Iraq strategy |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| US President George W Bush is due to unveil his long-awaited strategy for the future of US involvement in Iraq. | US President George W Bush is due to unveil his long-awaited strategy for the future of US involvement in Iraq. |
| The president is expected to announce he will bolster the US presence in the country by sending 20,000 troops to Baghdad and the restive Anbar province. | The president is expected to announce he will bolster the US presence in the country by sending 20,000 troops to Baghdad and the restive Anbar province. |
| But Democrats, who now control both houses of Congress, have made it clear they plan to oppose what they see as an "escalation" of the war in Iraq. | But Democrats, who now control both houses of Congress, have made it clear they plan to oppose what they see as an "escalation" of the war in Iraq. |
| Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has pledged to hold a vote on any increase. | Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has pledged to hold a vote on any increase. |
| Symbolic vote | Symbolic vote |
| Veteran Democratic Party senator Edward Kennedy said sending more soldiers would be "an immense new mistake". | Veteran Democratic Party senator Edward Kennedy said sending more soldiers would be "an immense new mistake". |
| An escalation, whether it is called a surge or any other name, is still an escalation, and I believe it would be an immense new mistake Sen Edward Kennedy href="/1/hi/world/middle_east/6245851.stm" class="">Taking the Vietnam out of Iraq | |
| Senate Democratic majority leader Harry Reid said that he hoped for a bi-partisan measure to block the move. | Senate Democratic majority leader Harry Reid said that he hoped for a bi-partisan measure to block the move. |
| "The president's going to have to take note of that. I think that's the beginning of the end, as far as I'm concerned," he said. | "The president's going to have to take note of that. I think that's the beginning of the end, as far as I'm concerned," he said. |
| But the BBC's Justin Webb, in Washington, says that the Democrat party is likely to settle on symbolic votes of disapproval. | But the BBC's Justin Webb, in Washington, says that the Democrat party is likely to settle on symbolic votes of disapproval. |
| But such a move would still be the biggest reconsideration of congressional support for the war since it began, he says. | But such a move would still be the biggest reconsideration of congressional support for the war since it began, he says. |
| Live address | Live address |
| Mr Bush, who is interrupting all television programmes so that they can carry his address live, is due to speak in Washington at 2100 local time on Wednesday (0200 GMT Thursday). | Mr Bush, who is interrupting all television programmes so that they can carry his address live, is due to speak in Washington at 2100 local time on Wednesday (0200 GMT Thursday). |
| He will address the nation from the White House library rather than the usual setting of the Oval Office. | He will address the nation from the White House library rather than the usual setting of the Oval Office. |
| The US president is expected to also announce an additional $1bn (770m euro, £0.5bn) in funds to strengthen the country's battered economy and create jobs, according to an anonymous source quoted by the Associated Press. | The US president is expected to also announce an additional $1bn (770m euro, £0.5bn) in funds to strengthen the country's battered economy and create jobs, according to an anonymous source quoted by the Associated Press. |
| One of his expected policy recommendations will be the transfer of responsibility for security to the Iraqis for all of the country's 18 provinces, news reports say. | One of his expected policy recommendations will be the transfer of responsibility for security to the Iraqis for all of the country's 18 provinces, news reports say. |
| Only three of the country's 18 provinces are currently under Iraqi control. | Only three of the country's 18 provinces are currently under Iraqi control. |
| The bulk of the additional troops are expected to be destined for the capital, Baghdad, where the Iraqi government said an estimated 50 insurgents were killed in clashes on Tuesday. | The bulk of the additional troops are expected to be destined for the capital, Baghdad, where the Iraqi government said an estimated 50 insurgents were killed in clashes on Tuesday. |