Bush says U.S. will clamp down on Iran, Syria as part of Iraq strategy

Associated Press

WASHINGTON -- President George W. Bush's new strategy for the Iraq war calls for clamping down on what the United States sees as Iran and Syria's support for insurgents and trying to get more help from American allies in the region. He said the United States would expand intelligence cooperation in the Middle East and deploy Patriot missile defense systems to help allies. He also said he would deploy an additional carrier strike group to the region. Bush said he would help Turkey and Iraq resolve problems along their border. Turkey has been pressing Iraq to stop Kurdish guerrillas from staging hit-and-run attacks from northern Iraq. Bush's comments came in a nationwide address to Americans in which he said he was increasing U.S. troops in Iraq by 21,500 in an attempt to change the course of the war. Bush said Iran and Syria "are allowing terrorists and insurgents to use their territory to move in and out of Iraq." "We will disrupt the attacks on our forces," Bush said. "We will interrupt the flow of support from Iran and Syria." He said he would use "America's full diplomatic resources to rally support for Iraq from nations throughout the Middle East." "Countries like Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, and the Gulf States need to understand that an American defeat in Iraq would create a new sanctuary for extremists — and a strategic threat to their survival," he said. He noted that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will travel to the region on Friday.