U.S. President George W. Bush on Wednesday night outlined a new strategy on Iraq, in which he proposed the deployment of more than 21,000 additional American troops to Iraq.

The new Iraq strategy ignited immediate rebukes from the Democrats, contending that the new plan "moves the American commitment in Iraq in the wrong direction."

In a joint statement following Bush's address, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and Senate Democratic Whip Richard Durbin said that American voters "delivered a strong message of no confidence in the president's Iraq policy and clearly expressed their desire for a new direction" in last November's midterm elections.

And most Americans oppose Bush's call to send additional U.S. military forces to Iraq, according to the new Washington Post-ABC News poll released on Thursday.

The poll shows that 61 percent opposed the new deployment, with 52 percent "strongly" opposing the build-up, while only 36 percent supported the additional troops and one-quarter was strongly supportive.

On the international scene, the new Iraq plan has gained support or welcome from European Union (EU), Britain, Australia and Turkey.

On Thursday, the EU voiced a cautious welcome to U.S. President George W. Bush's new Iraq strategy, saying the bloc is glad that he had taken a "more comprehensive approach" on Iraq.

"The commission president (Jose Manuel Barroso) welcomed the comprehensive approach taken in the international context for Iraq, which was also endorsed by President Bush," European Commission spokesman Johannes Laitenberger told a press briefing in Brussels.

In London, British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett welcomed U.S. President George Bush's decision to send more troops to Iraq.

"We welcome that and we hope that this joint effort to resolve this very difficult security situation will indeed succeed," Beckett told reporters before a cabinet meeting on Thursday.

In Canberra, Australian Prime Minister John Howard said that he supports Washington's decision to send more troops to Iraq,

"An American or western defeat in Iraq would give an unbelievable boost to terrorism," Australian Associated Press quoted Howard as telling reporters in Sydney on Thursday.

In a written statement released on Thursday, the Turkish Foreign Ministry expressed the country's support for every kind of measures taken to ensure security and stability to halt acts of violence in Iraq.

The new strategy was also applauded by Iraq, the country in question.

On Thursday, the Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said that sending more U.S. troops to Iraq is important for Iraqi 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," he told reporters.

Opposing voices, however, are also resonating in the air.

In Moscow, Boris Gryzlov, speaker of the Russian lower house of parliament said that Russia opposes the U.S. military reinforcement in Iraq.

Russia "supports the U.S. steps aimed at fighting against international terrorism, but we have never supported troops in Iraq," he was quoted by the Itar-Tass news agency as saying.

In Tehran, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad-Ali Hosseini said that U.S. President George W. Bush's decision to increase the number of U.S. military forces in Iraq "will only result in further insecurity and tension in that occupied country."

Sweden and Romania considered that the military reinforcement in Iraq should not be the only option on the table.

In Stockholm, Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt said on Thursday that the United States lacks the political dimensions needed to solve the conflict in Iraq.

He said that the increase may well help with security problems around Baghdad, but it is also important to tackle challenges like the inclusion of different groups in the political process, distribution of oil wealth and getting Iraq's neighbors to play a part in stabilizing the country.

Also on Thursday, Romanian Prime Minister Calin Popescu-Tariceanu said that maintaining the troops of the international coalition in Iraq cannot be a solution for the war-torn country.

"I will prefer a political to a military solution," said Tariceanu in Alexandria, south-west of Bucharest, when answering whether he maintains his position regarding the pullout of Romanian troops from Iraq.

Source: Xinhua