Bush: 'Iraqi militias must be curbed'
US President George Bush said today that militias are the biggest roadblock to Iraq’s effort to getting a unity government up and running, a goal that would help bolster the president’s sagging approval ratings over its handling of the war.
Bush spoke at the White House where he met with 10 former secretaries of state and defence from both Republican and Democratic administrations to discuss Iraq and the broader Middle East.
“Perhaps the main challenge is the militia that tend to take the law into their own hands and it’s going to be up to the government to step up and take care of that militia so that the Iraqi people are confident in the security of their country,” Bush said.
Iraqi officials plan to restructure police forces in the Baghdad under the newly formed National Police force to rein in militias and death squads.
“It’s important to have a secure Iraq in order for people to go about their daily lives,” Bush said.
Just over a third of Americans say they support Bush’s handling of Iraq more than three years after the US-led invasion, according to polling in early April.
Bush also met briefly in January with former secretaries of state and defence to discuss Iraq.
Among those who were there Friday was Madeleine Albright, Bill Clinton’s secretary of state, who has criticised Bush’s decision to invade Iraq.
“We’ve had our disagreements in this country about whether or not we should be there in the first place,” Bush said.
“Now the fundamental question is how do we achieve our objective, which is a democracy which can defend itself, sustain itself – a country which an ally in the war on terror and a country, which serves as a powerful example for others who desire to be free.”
Bush lauded the work being done in Iraq to form a unity government.
US officials hope the new unity government of Shiites, Kurds and Shiites can win public confidence and in time quell the violence so that American and other international troops can go home.
The framework of the government was put in place last month with the appointment of Nouri al-Maliki as prime minister-designate.
Al-Maliki, a Shiite, is trying to put together a Cabinet, but the process has bogged down over who will lead the defence and interior ministries.
“I’ve got great hopes about this unity government,” Bush said.
“We’ve got a Shia as the prime minister-designee, a Sunni as the speaker, a Kurd as the president, all of whom have dedicated themselves to a country moving forward that meets the hopes and aspirations of the Iraqi people.”
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