Gates: Troop buildup not last chance for Iraq

WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Robert Gates asserted Tuesday the increase in U.S. forces in Iraq is "not the last chance" to succeed and conceded he's considering what steps to take if the buildup doesn't work.

"I would be irresponsible if I weren't thinking about what the alternatives might be," Gates told the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Gates was grilled on the war as the full Senate remained stalled over Democratic leaders' efforts to begin a debate over President Bush's course for Iraq.

Gates did not say what other options he was considering if the addition of 21,500 troops fails to control the violence in Baghdad and western Anbar province, where the Sunni insurgency is based.

"We at this point are planning for success," he said.

Gates and Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, sought to assure lawmakers the additional troops pegged for Iraq will go there with sufficient equipment for the fight.

They said that a shortage of armored vehicles in one phase of operations will be remedied by July, and troops who need them will not be deployed from their compound in Iraq until the vehicles are supplied.

Republican Sen. John Warner of Virginia pressed Gates on the question of what happens if Bush's plan doesn't work. "I have to believe we're thinking beyond the Baghdad operation," the senator said.

"It is not the last chance," Gates replied.

Despite divisions over the troop buildup, lawmakers on the committee voted 16-0 to approve Adm. William Fallon's nomination to become top U.S. commander in the Middle East.

They also approved Gen. George Casey, who has been the top U.S. general in Iraq, as the next Army chief of staff, on a 14-3 vote. Both nominations must be approved by the full Senate.

Negotiations on how to move forward on the full Senate debate were playing out alongside an emerging struggle over Bush's $624.6 billion request in defense spending.

The spending request marks the first time Bush has offered an estimate of how much the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will cost a year in advance.

Gates spoke a day after Bush sent Congress a proposed budget that includes nearly $142 billion for war costs for the next budget year starting Oct. 1. That would bring total spending on the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and the armed forces' worldwide efforts against terrorism to a massive $662 billion.