"I'm inclined to believe that we do need to increase our troops - the army, the Marines," Bush said Tuesday in an interview with the Washington Post published online.

The president said he has asked his new Defencce Secretary Robert Gates to assess how best to carry out an expansion of the US troops. The US Army already has about 507,000 active duty soldiers.

Bush, however, did not discuss figures. The president has been working on a revised strategy to halt the deteriorating situation in Iraq but has so far not announced any plans.

The White House is reportedly considering raising the current number of troops in Iraq by 10,000 to contain the growing surge in violence. But top generals have warned against an increase, saying the army is already overstretched.

Bush said his review is underway and that he will not make any final conclusions until Gates, who took over from Donald Rumsfeld Monday, has a chance to visit Iraq and talk to US commanders.

"And I'm going to take my time to make sure that the policy, when it comes out, the American people will see that we ... have got a new way forward," he said.

There are also about 20,000 American troops in Afghanistan trying to fend off a resurgent Taliban, adding to the strain on the Pentagon.

"We need to reset our military. There's no question the military has been used a lot," Bush said.