The Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said Thursday that sending more U.S. troops to Iraq is important for Iraq stability.

"It is in the interest of Iraqis to increase the troops in the country to achieve stability, and as there is need to secure the citizens." Ali al-Dabbagh told reporters.

On Wednesday night, U.S. President George W. Bush said that he has ordered more than 20,000 additional American troops to Iraq, as part of his new Iraqi strategy.

In a prime-time televised speech, Bush said U.S. efforts to secure the Iraqi capital of Baghdad failed for two major reasons: not enough Iraqi and American troops to secure neighborhoods cleared of terrorists and insurgents, and too many restrictions on U.S. troops deployed in the war-torn country.

Dabbagh said that his government was aware about Bush's strategy before he announced it.

"The Iraqi government was fully cognizant about President Bush's strategy and the Iraqis' opinion was taken into consideration," Dabbagh said in a news conference.

According to Bush's new strategy, the vast majority of the additional troops -- five brigades -- would be deployed to Baghdad, and some 4,000 others would be sent to Iraq's western Anbar Province.

U.S. troops would have a well-defined mission -- to help Iraqis clear and secure neighborhoods, to help them protect the local population, and to help ensure that the Iraqi forces left behind were capable of providing the security that Baghdad needed,he said.

Source: Xinhua