Bush to acknowledge doubts in Iraq strategy
Tue Jun 28, 2005 05:16 PM ET
By Steve Holland
FORT BRAGG, N.C. (Reuters) - In a nationally televised speech, President Bush will acknowledge doubts about his Iraq war strategy but argue that it is worth it a year after the much-trumpeted U.S. transfer of power to Iraqis gave way to an endless stream of death.
"We have more work to do, and there will be tough moments that test America's resolve," Bush planned to say in an 8 p.m. (0000 GMT) speech. "We are fighting against men with blind hatred, and armed with lethal weapons, who are capable of any atrocity."
No significant shift in course was expected from Bush, whose approval ratings have fallen to the lowest levels of his presidency in part because of growing fears about Iraq.
Instead, he planned to plead for patience, insisting that U.S. troops will stay in Iraq until sufficient number of Iraqi military units are trained to defend against an insurgency that on Tuesday assassinated a prominent member of the Iraqi parliament and killed two U.S. soldiers.
"Amid all this violence, I know Americans ask the question: Is the sacrifice worth it? It is worth it, and it is vital to the future security of our country," Bush planned to say.
A Washington Post-ABC News poll found most Americans did not believe the administration's assertions of impressive gains against the insurgency. But a clear majority said they were willing to keep U.S. forces there for an extended time to stabilize the country.
The White House said Bush will acknowledge the tough fighting and suicide bombings in Iraq but will also explain "why the terrorists are failing."
"The terrorists can kill the innocent -- but they cannot stop the advance of freedom," Bush will say.
He will cite the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, as a reason for staying the course. No connection between Saddam Hussein and the Sept. 11 attacks was ever established, but the White House now calls Iraq the central front in the war on terrorism in part because the insurgency is led by Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who has sworn allegiance to al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.
"The only way our enemies can succeed is if we forget the lessons of Sept. 11, if we abandon the Iraqi people to men like Zarqawi and if we yield the future of the Middle East to men like bin Laden," Bush will say.
Before the speech from Fort Bragg, which has 9,300 troops in Iraq, Bush met privately with family members of 33 soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. More than 1,700 Americans have died in the Iraq war and thousands more have been wounded.
Bush was to speak to an audience of about 700 troops. Fort Bragg and neighboring Pope Air Force Base have lost 89 troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.
With Democrats and some Republicans in Congress pressuring the administration to show results in Iraq or pull out, the White House billed the speech as a major effort by Bush to make his case at a critical "time of testing."
Bush has rejected calls by some lawmakers for setting a deadline to withdraw U.S. troops, warning that to do so would embolden the insurgents.
"The American people do not falter under threat -- and we will not allow our future to be determined by car bombers and assassins," Bush will say in his speech.
Bush's opponent in last year's presidential campaign, Massachusetts Democratic Sen. John Kerry, said in a speech on the Senate floor that Bush should give Americans more than a new communications strategy in the face of a spreading insurgency.
"This is a growing challenge, and we need to take immediate steps to address it. Our officer corps reports that every time our troops kill or capture an insurgent, three more step forward to take his place," Kerry said.
Bush's speech comes on the anniversary of the handover of sovereignty, and aides said he would point to last January's Iraqi elections and work on a new constitution as signs of progress.
MILITARY COMMITMENT
Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine and Democratic Sen. Carl Levin of Michigan urged Bush to make clear that Iraq must meet its timetable to adopt a constitution, or the United States would re-evaluate its military commitment.
"We should demonstrate to the Iraqis that our willingness to bear that burden is not unlimited," they said in a letter.
Iraqis are scheduled to write a constitution by mid-August, vote on it in October then hold new elections in December.
The Bush administration has confused Americans with a number of conflicting statements about Iraq.
Bush declared last week the insurgency "will be defeated," but Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has insisted it would be up to the Iraqis to beat the insurgency.
Last month Vice President Dick Cheney said the insurgency was in its "last throes," a statement the White House has defended but Pentagon leaders have not repeated. (Additional reporting by Adam Entous) |
