Bush is taking another! eight day vacation!stay at Crawford ranch during this crisis. The part time pres insists June 30 Iraq transition is on track. Transition Date Still Firm, President Says
Bush Is Calm in Reaction to Violence
By Dana Milbank and Mike Allen
Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, April 6, 2004; Page A13
washingtonpost.com
CHARLOTTE, April 5 -- President Bush asserted Monday that he would not postpone the June 30 transfer of power in Iraq, as the administration gave an understated public reaction to flaring violence in that country and some of the heaviest fighting since Saddam Hussein's fall.
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Bush and his press secretary blamed the Shiite resistance in Baghdad -- where bloody clashes killed scores over the weekend -- on the work of "one man," cleric Moqtada Sadr, who helped trigger a Shiite Muslim uprising. And except for a seven-minute exchange with reporters that was added to his schedule to address the turmoil, the president went about his schedule, including his last fundraiser for his reelection campaign and an appearance at a baseball game in St. Louis.
"The intention is to make sure the deadline remains the same," Bush said when asked about the scheduled transfer of civilian authority from the U.S.-led coalition to Iraqis on June 30. "The date remains firm."
The president's studied calm was in contrast to spreading worry at home and abroad about the Iraq situation. Sen. Richard G. Lugar (R-Ind.), the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, suggested over the weekend that the transfer date may need to be delayed.
Qatar's foreign minister, Hamad Bin Jasim Thani, warned Monday that he fears "we are facing a civil war" in Iraq, and L. Paul Bremer, the U.S. administrator in Iraq, canceled plans to travel to Washington so he could remain in Baghdad to deal with the crisis. There, U.S. helicopters fired on Shiite insurgents Monday, a day after 48 Iraqis, eight U.S. soldiers and a Salvadoran died in clashes. At least 610 U.S. troops have been killed in Iraq.
Vice President Cheney also threw out a first pitch on Monday -- his was in Cincinnati -- and spoke at a Republican fundraiser. National security adviser Condoleezza Rice worked on Iraq and other issues but spent part of the day reviewing notes for her testimony Thursday before the independent commission investigating the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Secretary of State Colin L. Powell was in Haiti. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld made no public appearances.
Administration officials bristled at the idea that they were either disconnected from events in Iraq, or trying to appear so. They said they view Iraq as part of a long, hard war that will have daily ups and downs, and said they will not allow Bush to be trapped into responding to every development.
White House communications director Dan Bartlett said the president decided to speak Monday because he wanted to send a message of resolve to Americans and Iraqis, but that he is intentionally selective about such moments. "When the president speaks, it must mean something and must speak to a larger point," Bartlett said. "He uses these events as an opportunity to educate the public about the struggle we face and how we will prevail. In a war on terror, there will be difficult days and good days. He has spoken out on both, and will continue to do so."
Bush kept to his schedule last Wednesday when four Americans working as security contractors in Iraq were killed and then mutilated by a jubilant throng, producing some of the most disturbing images to emerge from the occupation. His only public event that day was a luncheon with members of the Baseball Hall of Fame. He did not add to his public schedule, and did not mention the horror in Fallujah while raising money for his campaign that night.
In Bush's remarks in Charlotte, he predicted more violence as the deadline for the handover of power approaches, saying, "It provides a convenient excuse to attack." But he resisted any suggestion that the rebellion against U.S. forces has spread from the Sunni minority to the Shiite majority.
"[W]ith Sadr, this is one person who is deciding that rather than allow democracy to flourish, he's going to exercise force," he said. Noting that U.S. authorities have issued a warrant for his arrest, Bush added: "This is one person, this is a person, and followers, who are trying to say, 'We don't want democracy.' "
Bush also addressed the continuing furor over counterterrorism policies and whether his administration did enough to combat al Qaeda and other terror groups before the Sept. 11 attacks. He said Rice will "lay out the facts" when she testifies Thursday in front of the commission investigating the attacks.
"Let me just be very clear about this: Had we had the information that was necessary to stop an attack, I'd have stopped the attack," Bush said. "And I'm convinced any other government would have, too. I mean, make no mistake about it; if we had known that the enemy was going to fly airplanes into our buildings, we'd have done everything in our power to stop it."
Bush's comments came a day after the commission's Republican chairman and Democratic vice chairman reiterated their view that the Sept. 11 attacks could have been prevented, if not for a long series of missteps and mistaken judgment by government agencies.
In his speech and his exchange with reporters, Bush vowed repeatedly to "stay the course," but he did not specify what additional measures might be taken to pacify Iraq.
A poll for the nonpartisan Pew Research Center released Monday found that although 57 percent believe the United States was right to use force in Iraq, only four in 10 approve of the way Bush is handling Iraq, down from 59 percent in January, and only 43 percent approve of Bush overall.
After touting his job-training proposals at a community college in Charlotte, Bush met with the family of Chris Hill, who was killed in Fallujah last month, leaving a wife and 1-year-old daughter. "We're being challenged in Iraq because there are people there that hate freedom," Bush said after meeting with Hill's kin. "But the family was pleased to hear that its son would not have died in vain."
"We've got to stay the course and we will stay the course," he said.
Other than the unscheduled remarks on Iraq, Bush did not alter his plans for the day. His stops in Charlotte and St. Louis were en route to an eight-day stay on his ranch in central Texas.Allen reported from Washington. Staff writer Dan Eggen contributed to this report. |
