Bush: Iraq is our growing anti-terror ally
US president George Bush said today the US was winning the war in Iraq and urged Americans divided by doubt: “Do not give in to despair and do not give up on this fight for freedom.”
In a televised prime-time address last night, US time, Bush acknowledged setbacks and sacrifice and warned there would be more violence and death in the months ahead.
“Some look at the challenges in Iraq and conclude that the war is lost and not worth another dime or another day,” he said.
Struggling to build confidence in his policy, the president held out hopes for withdrawing American forces as Iraqi troops gained strength and experience.
After the address, Senator Edward Kennedy, a Massachusetts Democrat, said it was wrong for Bush “to attempt to silence his critics by calling them defeatists”.
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada commended Bush for his “increased candour”. But he said Bush still had not told the nation exactly what had to be accomplished before US troops could begin returning home.
The president spoke from the Oval Office, where in March 2003, he announced the US-led invasion. Nearly three years later, more than 2,150 US soldiers have died, Bush’s popularity has plummeted and about half of Americans think the war was a mistake. Yet a strong majority oppose an immediate withdrawal of US forces.
The address came on the heels of four major speeches in which Bush acknowledged setbacks and surprises in the war and took responsibility for ordering the invasion on the basis of inaccurate intelligence.
“I know that some of my decisions have led to terrible loss and not one of those decisions has been taken lightly,” he said. “I know that this war is controversial, yet being your president requires doing what I believe is right and accepting the consequences.”
Bush said last week’s parliamentary election would not bring an end to the violence in Iraq, where he has estimated that 30,000 Iraqis have died. But he said Iraq’s election, 6,000 miles away, “means that America has an ally of growing strength in the fight against terror”.
Arguing against withdrawal, Bush said that “to retreat before victory would be an act of recklessness and dishonour and I will not allow.”
As he has in the past three weeks, Bush acknowledged that mistakes and setbacks had occurred and took responsibility for ordering the invasion based on faulty intelligence.
But, he said, “Not only can we win the war in Iraq – we are winning the war in Iraq.”
He said there were only two options for the US – victory or defeat.
“And the need for victory is larger than any president or political party because the security of our people is in the balance. I do not expect you to support everything I do but tonight I have a request: Do not give in to despair and do not give up on this fight for freedom.”
Bush said: “It is also important for every American to understand the consequences of pulling out of Iraq before our work is done.
“We would abandon our Iraqi friends and signal to the world that America cannot be trusted to keep its word. … We would hand Iraq over to enemies who have pledged to attack us and the global terrorist movement would be emboldened and more dangerous than ever before.”
Acknowledging doubts about his strategy, Bush said, “Some look at the challenges in Iraq, and conclude that the war is lost, and not worth another dime or another day.
“I don’t believe that,” he said. “Our military commanders do not believe that. Our troops in the field, who bear the burden and make the sacrifice, do not believe that America has lost. And not even the terrorists believe it. We know from their own communications that they feel a tightening noose and fear the rise of a democratic Iraq.”
Despite the faulty intelligence behind his war decision, Bush said the US was right to remove Saddam Hussein from power, calling him “a murderous dictator who menaced his people, invaded his neighbours and declared America to be his enemy. Saddam Hussein, captured and jailed, is still the same raging tyrant - only now without a throne".
Bush spoke openly about war doubts and the loss of American lives in Iraq. “This loss has caused sorrow for our whole nation and it has led some to ask if we are creating more problems than we are solving,” the president said.
He answered the question by saying that if the United States were not fighting the terrorists in Iraq, “they would be on the offence and headed our way”.
