Bush slams Howard Dean's comments on Iraq
By Steve Holland
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush criticized Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean on Tuesday for saying it is wrong to think the United States will win in Iraq, calling him a pessimist trying to score political points.
"I know we're going to win, and our troops need to hear not only that they are supported but that we have got a strategy that will win," said Bush, who is trying to restore American confidence in his Iraq plan amid waning support for the war.
Dean stirred Republican wrath by telling San Antonio, Texas, radio station WOAI that "the idea that we're going to win the war in Iraq is an idea which is just plain wrong."
He predicted the Democratic Party would come together on a proposal to withdraw National Guard and Reserve troops immediately, and all U.S. forces within two years.
Bush said the scheduled Iraqi elections December 15 and the trial of Saddam Hussein are proof of progress in Iraq.
He is to give a second speech on Wednesday looking ahead to the Iraqi elections amid calls from some Democrats for a timetable for an early withdrawal of U.S. troops.
"Oh, there's pessimists, you know, and politicians who try to score points. but our strategy is one that will lead us to victory," Bush said when asked about Dean's remarks.
Bush said the Saddam trial is proof of the change that has taken place in Iraqi society, compared to the days when Saddam was in charge and opponents faced "death or torture" instead of justice.
Dean is a former governor of Vermont who one point was a top contender for the role of Democratic candidate for president in 2004. His outspoken style has both admirers and critics in and out of the party.
Bush has rejected setting a timetable for withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq, saying it would encourage the Iraqi insurgency. His administration has recently gone on the offensive against critics of the war by warning that calls to withdraw could hurt the morale of U.S. troops there.
Dean called Iraq "the same situation we had in Vietnam."
"Everybody then kept saying, 'Just another year, just stay the course, we'll have a victory.' Well, we didn't have a victory, and this policy cost the lives of an additional 25,000 troops because we were too stubborn to recognize what was happening," he said.
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