U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell told U.S. President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair last month that there were not enough troops in Iraq, the Washington Post reported Friday. Powell told the two leaders during a November meeting after Bush was re-elected that troops levels were insufficient for controlling the ground and maintaining security, the Post reporting, citing senior Bush administration officials. Three weeks after the discussion, the U.S. military announced plans to increase the American presence from 138,000 top 150,000 ahead of Iraq's January 30 elections. Powell, a retired general who served as former national security advisory and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has since tendered his resignation. --SP 2213 Local Time 1913 GMT
