New defense secretary says he talked to Iraqis about giving more military help

(AP) Defense Secretary Robert Gates traded ideas with Iraqi leaders Thursday about boosting military assistance for the embattled government and warned Iraq's neighbors that the U.S. will be a presence in the Persian Gulf for a long time.

But on the second day of a visit to the war zone, the new Pentagon chief would not answer the key question on the minds of many, including U.S. troops: Will he recommend a short-term increase in the number of American forces in Iraq?

Speaking to reporters after meetings with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and other Iraqi officials, Gates said the talks were "mainly on the overall approach, including the possibility of some additional assistance." He said no numbers of additional troops were discussed.

"We were really talking in broad terms," said Gates, who is in his first week as defense secretary.

Gates' visit comes as President Bush reassesses U.S. policy in the war, which is solidly opposed by the American public after 3 1/2 years of bloodshed. Among the president's options is whether to quickly add thousands of U.S. troops to the 140,000 already in Iraq, in hopes of staunching the escalating violence in Baghdad and elsewhere.

In the meetings, Gates said he discussed how "with Iraqis in the lead, we can best play a supporting role" in helping bring order to the country. He said he assured the Iraqis of "the steadfastness of American support and our enduring presence in the Persian Gulf."

Earlier in the day, he said Iran and Syria are playing a negative role in the violence. A special U.S. commission, the Iraq Study Group, recently suggested a diplomatic push that would involve all of Iraq's neighbors _ including Iran and Syria. Bush, however, has seemed disinclined to involve those two American nemeses.

"We need to make damned sure that the neighbors understand that we're going to be here for a long time _ here being the Persian Gulf," said Gates, during a morning meeting with soldiers.

He suggested that commitment will include keeping U.S. logistics and support troops in Iraq for a lot longer than the combat forces.

Gates said he discussed with the Iraqis how their government could address the deteriorating security problems. Besides an unrelenting insurgency, killings and kidnappings between Sunnis and Shiites are approaching civil war dimensions and U.S. and civilian casualties keep rising.

"One of the strong messages I received today was the desire of the Iraqi government to take a leadership role in addressing some of the challenges that face the country, above all the security problem here in Baghdad," Gates said during a press conference with Iraqi Defense Minister Abdul-Qader al-Obaidi.

Gates said there are several approaches that could be used to improve security, yet offered few details. He sidestepped several questions probing for more details about the possibility of boosting troop levels _ an idea that has gotten mixed reviews.

After Gates met with U.S. soldiers at Camp Victory, several said the extra forces would help.

"Sir, I think we need to just keep doing what we're doing," Spc. Jason T. Glenn, with the 101st Military Intelligence Brigade Combat Team of the 1st Infantry Division, told Gates during a breakfast session with about 15 soldiers.

"I really think we need more troops here," Glenn said. "With more presence on the ground, more troops might hold them off long enough to where we can get the Iraqi Army trained up."

Military commanders worry that rushing thousands more Americans to the battlefront could prompt Iraqis to slow their effort to take control of their country.

Those concerns are "clearly a consideration" in mapping out future strategy, Gates said.

His hourlong question-and-answer session over scrambled eggs was spent largely gathering insights from those closest to the action.

When Gates asked whether adding forces would help, he got a roomful of nods and smattering of "yes, sir" responses.

"More troops would help us integrate the Iraq Army into patrols more," said Pfc. Cassandra Wallace, from the 10th Mountain Division.

The soldiers told him they think the Iraqi Army is getting better, but that it should be bigger and that many of the Iraqis are still not showing up for duty.

Gates, who later flew by helicopter to Balad Air Base west of Baghdad for a special operations briefing, did not tip his hand much to the soldiers.

Gates planned more meetings Friday before returning to the United States.