Bush: Iraqis holding tough against insurgents
US President George Bush said today there will be “more tough fighting ahead” in Iraq, but denied claims that the Mideast nation is in the grips of a civil war.
“The Iraqis had a chance to fall apart and they didn’t,” he said at a news conference.
The second major news conference of the year marked a new push by Bush to confront doubts about his strategy in Iraq.
A day earlier, he acknowledged to a sometimes-sceptical audience that there was dwindling support for his Iraq policy and that he understood why people were disheartened.
“The terrorists haven’t given up. They’re tough-minded. They like to kill,” he said today.
“There will be more tough fighting ahead.”
Bush said he agreed to US talks with Iran to underscore that Tehran’s attempts to spread sectarian violence or provide support to Iraqi insurgents was unacceptable to the United States.
His opening remarks were designed to steel Americans for more fighting in Iraq and put an optimistic spin on the state of the US economy.
“Productivity is strong. Inflation is contained. Household net worth is at an all-time high,” Bush said, giving credit to the policies of his administration.
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