WASHINGTON, Jan. 4 (UPI) -- U.S. President George Bush announced more American troops would be embedded with Iraqi special police units to train and monitor them for human rights abuses.
"To restore security, Iraq has got to have capable police forces. And the recent reports of abuses by some of the Iraqi police units are troubling, and that conduct is unacceptable," Bush said.
"The coalition teams will go in the field with the police; they'll provide real-time advice and importance assistance on patrol and during operations. And between operations, they're going to train the Iraqi officers; they're going to help them become increasingly capable and professional so they can serve and protect all the Iraqi people without discrimination."
He also warned the American people that the political transition in Iraq to a new government would take time as a new coalition government has to be formed.
"This is gonna take some time," Bush said to reporters after he was briefed at the Pentagon. "What the American people will see during the weeks ahead is the political process unfolding, that people will be making decisions not based upon who's got the biggest gun but who's got the capacity to rally the will of the people."
If the political situation stabilizes and violence diminishes, Bush said he would consider bringing home more American troops.
"Later this year... we can discuss further possible adjustments with the leaders of a new government in Iraq," Bush said. "But my decisions will be based upon conditions on the ground and the recommendation of our commanders, not based by false political timetables in Washington, D.C. I'm not going to let politics get in the way of doing the right thing in Iraq, and the American people have got to understand that."
The U.S. presence in Iraq is slated to dip from 160,000 before the election to below 138,000 - the average number there last year.
