In a White House speech on January 10, 2007, President Bush said: ” ‘The situation in Iraq is unacceptable to the American people–and it is unacceptable to me… Our troops in Iraq have fought bravely. They have done everything we have asked them to do. Where mistakes have been made, the responsibility rests with me.’ He laid out his plan to send 21,500 more troops–it would later grow to 30,000–to carry out a strategy aimed at protecting the civilian population. The change in strategy was as important as the number of troops, he explained. Bush dismissed calls to leave Iraq, arguing that letting the enemy win would hobble the United States for years. ‘We carefully considered these proposals,’ he said of recommendations to withdraw, and we concluded that to step back now would force a collapse of the Iraqi government, tear the country apart, and result in mass killings on an unimaginable scale. Such a scenario would result in our troops being forced to stay in Iraq even longer, and confront an enemy that is even more lethal. If we increase our support at this crucial moment and help the Iraqis break the current cycle of violence, we can hasten the day our troops begin coming home.’ ”
– Peter Baker, Days of Fire, Pages 525-526