U.S. President George W. Bush will announce his new strategy for Iraq Wednesday night, and many expect the plan will include sending more American soldiers to the volatile country.
Speculation has swirled for weeks about what Bush's announcement will contain.
Media reports have suggested Bush wants to send 20,000 extra troops to Iraq on a short-term basis.
There are currently about 144,000 U.S. soldiers in Iraq, down from a peak of 160,000 in 2005.
Democrats are already speaking out against plans to add troops.
After taking control of the House and the Senate last week, Democratic leaders released a letter to Bush demanding that troops begin withdrawing from Iraq in four to six weeks.
Support for Iraqi soldiers
The letter from Senate majority leader Harry Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said U.S. forces should focus on training and supporting Iraqi soldiers, rather than fighting.
It also said, "We are well past the point of more troops for Iraq," which sets the Democrats in opposition to Bush's expected announcement.
On Sunday, Pelosi said Bush will not be able to add troops without good reason.
"If the president wants to add to this mission, he is going to have to justify it," she told CBS News.
"And this is new for him because up until now the Republican Congress has given him a blank cheque with no oversights, no standards, no conditions."
At least 3,000 American soldiers have died in Iraq since the war began in 2003.
Methods to stabilize economy
Bush's announcement on Wednesday will also address ways to stabilize Iraq both politically and economically, the New York Times reported Monday.
Citing unnamed senior officials, the Times said Bush will try to draw disengaged Sunnis into the political process by promising to set a date for provincial elections.
Bush will also look at completing a long-delayed national oil law that will give the Iraq government the power to distribute oil revenues to the provinces and regions, based on their population, the Times said.
To prepare his new Iraq strategy, Bush consulted in December with top U.S. generals and Defence Department officials.
At the time, Bush hinted that he would not pull troops out of Iraq. He said he would not consider any ideas that involve "leaving before the job is done."
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