A rchive Date
[ 29-06-2005 ]
Category
[ International Relations ]
sub-Categoy
[ U.S ]
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[http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/World/2005/06/26/1105852-ap.html
Bush pleads for time in Iraq war
By BETH GORHAM
June 28, 2005
WASHINGTON (CP) - President George W. Bush tried to buy more time with disgruntled Americans for the Iraq war Tuesday but offered no new initiatives and refused to commit more troops or set a timetable for withdrawing U.S. soldiers.
Bush, in a televised address, acknowledged Americans are focused on whether the war is worth unrelenting casualties but appealed for resolve against "men of blind hatred," saying they threaten the security of the United States.
The president, in an address at Fort Bragg, N.C., to mark the first anniversary of the transfer of sovereignty to Iraqis, noted the near-daily images of bloodshed, where "every picture is horrifying and the suffering is real."
"It is worth it," declared Bush, who continually linked the Iraq conflict with the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the al-Qaida network and the broader war on terrorism in the face of negative opinion polls and sharp attacks from legislators.
It's a tactic Bush has often employed. But Iraq's deposed president, Saddam Hussein, had no part in the Sept. 11 attacks and critics say the war has only served to draw a new breed of terrorists into the country.
"The terrorists can kill the innocent, but they cannot stop the advance of freedom," Bush said.
"The only way our enemies can succeed is if we forget the lessons of Sept. 11 . . . if we abandon the Iraqi people to men like (Abu Musab) al-Zarqawi . . . and if we yield the future of the Middle East to men like (Osama) bin Laden."
"For the sake of the nation's security, this will not happen on my watch."
Although facing a wave of discontent about the war, which has claimed more than 1,700 U.S. soldiers in the past 27 months, Bush didn't chart a new policy course in his half-hour speech, which drew a round of applause from the military audience when he vowed that the United States "will stay in the fight until the fight is won."
Still, he offered what appeared to be a more realistic view of the conflict than the one painted by top officials in recent weeks.
"Our progress has been uneven," he admitted, "but progress is being made," said Bush, pointing to gains in living standards and security measures.
"Today Iraq has more than 160,000 security forces trained and equipped for a variety of missions," said Bush, who acknowledged they aren't all combat-ready.
To that end, coalition forces are partnering with Iraqi units in several ways to better prepare them for fighting and intelligence gathering, he said, noting that more than 2,000 members of Iraqi security forces have died.
"We have learned that Iraqis are courageous and that they need additional skills," said Bush. "That is why a major part of our mission is to train them so they can do the fighting and our troops can come home.
"Our strategy can be summed up this way - as the Iraqis stand up, we will stand down."
The president praised countries helping to train the Iraqi army and police and have pledged assitance for reconstruction. Canada is participating in those efforts.
He said that a new consitution for the country and planned national elections later this year will help quell the insurgency.
Any timetable for U.S. withdrawal "would send the wrong message to the enemy, who would know that all they have to do is to wait us out.
"We will stay in Iraq as long as we are needed and not a day longer."
Military leaders, said Bush, tell him that they have enough troops to do the job.
"Sending more Americans would undermine our strategy of encouraging Iraqis to take the lead in this fight. And sending more Americans would suggest that we intend to stay forever, when we are in fact working for the day when Iraq can defend itself and we can leave."
Reaction was divided between those who thought Bush's pitch was strong enough to sway U.S. opinion and others who were disappointed he didn't lay out a clear strategy for success.
Democrat Senator Joe Biden, who has been critical of the war, said he agrees there's been progress but maintains only some 2,500 Iraqis are fully trained to combat the insurgents.
But Biden, like many other legislators, thinks an immediate pullout would be a disaster.
"Hopefully (people) will say: 'The American president is levelling with me, I'll give him more time.' "
Others were more doubtful the speech would have much of an impact.
"We're ready to work with the president, every one of the Democratic senators," said Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada.
"But he must acknowledge his mistakes and set forth a realistic course for the future."
The latest Gallup poll pegs disapproval of Bush's overall job performance at its highest level, 53 per cent.
A new Washington Post-ABC News Poll suggests only 22 per cent believe claims the insurgency is getting weaker, while 56 per cent disapprove of Bush's handling of the war.
Just over half of Americans said they think the war will make them more secure at home.
And for the first time, a majority of people - 52 per cent - said the administration deliberately misled Americans about the reasons for war, which hinged on Iraq's presumed possession of weapons of mass destruction.
Still, only one in eight Americans favoured an immediate pullout of U.S. troops.
"We have more work to do and there will be tough moments that test America's resolve," said Bush.
"We are fighting against men with blind hatred . . . They take innocent lives to create chaos for the cameras. They are trying to shake our will in Iraq, just as they tried to shake our will on Sept. 11, 2001. They will fail.
"The terrorists do not understand America. The American people do not falter under threat and we will not allow our future to be determined by car bombers and assassins."
The White House, focused for months on domestic issues, has started an intense public relations campaign amid the negative polls and rising deaths.
Iraqi insurgents have developed stronger bombs that can kill more people in a single attack and a recent CIA report confirmed that Iraq has become a critical training ground for al-Qaida terrorists.
"The reality is that the Bush administration's choices have made Iraq into what it wasn't before the war - a breeding ground for jihadists," Democratic Senator John Kerry wrote Tuesday in the New York Times.
There have also been renewed questions about the motivation for war, following leaked British memos suggesting Bush was fixated on an ill-conceived invasion in 2002.
Even some Republicans have begun loudly questioning Bush's credibility and the administration's rosy predictions about progress.
While Vice-President Dick Cheney has said the insurgency is in its "last throes," military leaders say the resistance is as strong as it was six months ago, with more foreign fighters entering Iraq.
Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has admitted the fighting could go on for as long as 12 years, but insisted Iraqis will one day take on the battle themselves.
Democrats are demanding a detailed public accounting of how many Iraqis are being trained to provide security, as well as targets for reconstruction and political improvements.
 World Fact Book (CIA)]
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