Top Marine Says Troop Surge Possible

Dec. 18, 2006— -- The commandant of the Marine Corps is offering some insight -- and some words of caution -- into the administration's planning for a possible "surge" of troops in Iraq.

Gen. James T. Conway said a meeting with President Bush left him convinced that the president was considering a "strategy change" that could send five more brigades -- about 17,500 troops -- to Iraq. "I emphasize the word 'considering,'" Conway said, adding that the Joint Chiefs could support such a proposal.

"Right now, those five brigades are in training and getting ready to go back in," Conway told reporters during a visit to Cape Girardeau, Mo., over the weekend. If their training were cut short to send them back to Iraq, he said, "You sacrifice something later on."

"If you reach down and pull those (troops) forward, that represents, in military parlance, a 'surge,'" he said, that limits the availability of manpower in the future. Conway said he believes such a move should not be considered lightly: "If you commit your reserve for something other than a decisive win or to stave off defeat, then you have essentially shot your bolt," he said.

A senior administration official tells ABC News that a surge of troops, if put into effect, would not necessarily be that "temporary." The troop increase could last a year or longer, depending on "conditions on the ground," he said.

The same official said that such a move would come only with the consent of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government, as part of a plan developed with the Iraqis. The official said that despite al-Malaki's public statements about taking control of security by next summer, the Iraqi prime minister is not opposed to the idea of sending in more U.S. troops now.