Topeka ? American soldiers are getting frustrated and concerned for their families as President Bush increases troop levels in Baghdad, U.S. Rep. Nancy Boyda said Tuesday after a weekend visit to Iraq.

“They’re good, patriotic soldiers. But their message was, we are very concerned about our families and our families want to know what is going on,” Boyda, D-Topeka, said in a telephone news conference.

While visiting Kansas soldiers in Iraq, Boyda said they received word that their service probably would be extended.

House Democrats, who recently won control of Congress, are considering restrictions on how Bush can spend the $100 billion he wants for Iraq. Some have called for troop withdrawals while others are willing to grant Bush flexibility.

Boyda said no consensus had been reached and she was listening to various arguments in that debate.

“We need to get our troops home, but it has to be done responsibly and carefully,” she said.

“I would not recommend any kind of rapid pullout. There are no good solutions to this,” she said.

Boyda said she also visited Amman, Jordan, which has taken in hundreds of thousands of Iraqi refuges. She said her visit re-emphasized to her how unstable the region is.

“The best thing that we can do is to redeploy our troops as responsibly as we can and hope that the countries of the Middle East come together. Let’s keep in mind, they’ve been killing each other for centuries,” she said.

Bush said in a speech to the American Legion in Washington that his plan to send an additional 21,500 U.S. troops to Iraq was cutting down violence. There are 140,000 U.S. troops in Iraq.

“There are some encouraging signs,” Bush said.

And he said military commanders should be able to operate “without undue interference from politicians in Washington.”

Boyda said violence in Baghdad had decreased over the past couple of weeks, but no one in command wanted to conclude that that would last long.