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WASHINGTON — Six weeks after the start of the war in Iraq, President Bush is prepared to officially declare Thursday that the combat phase is over and the rebuilding phase has begun.
Press Secretary Ari Fleischer said the president will make the announcement aboard the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (search), where he plans to spend Thursday night as the ship returns from operations in Iraq.
Fleischer said General Tommy Franks (search), the top commander in Iraq, informed the president that it is safe to say that "major combat operations have ended."
"Yesterday the president spoke with General Franks," Fleischer said. "General Franks told the president that major combat operations have ended and that the next phase has begun, which is the reconstruction of Iraq."
However, Central Command has said that Iraq is still a very dangerous place for coalition forces. For the second time in 48 hours, U.S. forces returned fire following an anti-American demonstration in the city of Fallujah, a Baath party stronghold.
This is the second time in two days that soldiers of the 82nd Airborne (search) have come under attack from Iraqi demonstrators armed with AK-47s. The local hospital said 13 Iraqis were killed in the first volley. The mayor of Fallujah said Wednesday that two were killed and 14 wounded in the second demonstration, which was organized to protest the earlier incident.
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