Bush Says Major Combat Over in Iraq
One Victory in Terror War
By Richard Keil and Heidi Przybyla aboard the Lincoln and
Aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, May 1 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. President George W. Bush said major military operations in Iraq are over, claiming ``one victory'' in the global fight against terrorism and the spread of weapons of mass destruction.
``The liberation of Iraq is a crucial advance in the campaign against terror,'' Bush said in a speech aboard the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, steaming back to San Diego tomorrow after combat missions in the Persian Gulf.
``We have difficult work to do in Iraq,'' Bush said. ``The transition from dictatorship to democracy will take time, but it is worth every effort. Our coalition will stay until our work is done. Then we will leave, and we will leave behind a free Iraq.''
The U.S. is at odds with France and Russia over how much say the United Nations should have in rebuilding Iraq, which has the world's second largest oil reserves. France and Russia opposed the war and want the UN to play a central role in postwar Iraq. The U.S. wants to limit the UN to an advisory role.
``Iraq is the major foreign policy enterprise of the first Bush term,'' said Michael O'Hanlon, a Brookings Institution foreign policy analyst. Bush's speech is a ``victory lap.''
Bush's speech signals a shift in focus to helping Iraq restore essential services, revive its economy and install a democratic government after 35 years of dictatorship.
``We are bringing order to parts of that country that remain dangerous. We are pursuing and finding leaders of the old regime, who will be held to account for their crimes,'' Bush said. ``We have begun the search for hidden chemical and biological weapons, and already know of hundreds of sites that will be investigated.''
Weapons Search
So far the U.S. hasn't found such weapons in Iraq. The arms hunt will take months, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage said yesterday. ``The evidence of Saddam Hussein's programs is likely to be spread across many hundreds and even possibly thousands of sites in Iraq,'' Armitage said.
Bush stopped short of declaring a formal end to the Iraq war. The Geneva Convention, an international code of conduct for wars and military conflict, generally requires that victorious armies stop targeting enemy leaders and release prisoners of war.
The coalition has in custody 15 of the 55 most-wanted Iraqi leaders. Hussein's fate is unknown after he was targeted in two air attacks during the war, one when the conflict began March 20 in Baghdad and again on April 7.
U.S. troops will remain a long time to help rebuild Iraq and establish a foundation for democracy, said William Taylor, a national security analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. ``The war was the easy part; now the hard part comes,'' Taylor said.
War on Terror
Bush and his aides long have painted the Iraq war as part of a broader battle against terrorism since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks by Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network.
``The battle of Iraq is one victory in a war on terror that began on Sept. 11, 2001, and still goes on,'' said Bush.
The president has said the arrest in Pakistan of Waleed bin Attash, a Yemeni national also known as Tawfiq Attash or Khallad, who the U.S. alleges was connected to the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole, is a significant find.
``From Pakistan to the Philippines to the Horn of Africa, we are hunting down al-Qaeda killers,'' Bush said tonight. ``No terrorist network will gain weapons of mass destruction from the Iraqi regime, because that regime is no more.''
Terror Attacks Decline
The U.S. ``is chipping away'' at terrorism, Taylor said. The number of attacks worldwide declined in 2002, the State Department reported yesterday. There were 199 terror attacks last year, down 44 percent from 355 in 2001, which included Sept. 11.
Attacks against U.S. interests worldwide also declined to 77 last year from 219 in 2001, the department said. The decline in part reflected a reduction in the number of pipe bombings in Colombia, which fell to 41 from 178, the department said.
Vice President Dick Cheney, speaking to the Heritage Foundation earlier today in Washington, set the stage for Bush's speech, comparing the U.S. military's performance in Iraq this year with the 1991 war to evict Saddam Hussein from neighboring Kuwait.
This time, Cheney said, the U.S.-led coalition ousted Hussein's regime from power in far larger Iraq using half the ground forces and two-thirds of the air power.
``The United States and her allies have prevailed,'' Bush said. ``The tyrant has fallen, and Iraq is free.''
Bush arrived aboard the Lincoln by a S-3B Viking jet, a four- seat airborne refueler dubbed ``Navy One'' for the presidential flight and marked ``George W. Bush, commander in chief.''
The president sat in the co-pilot's seat and flew the plane for about a third of the 30-minute flight, telling reporters he ``just steered it straight.'' It was the first time Bush piloted a jet since serving in the Texas Air National Guard in 1968-73, spokesman Ari Fleischer said.
The nuclear-powered ship's 10-month deployment was the longest for a carrier in 30 years. Bush's plane and another S-3B performed two flybys before landing on the Lincoln as the vessel steamed toward San Diego.
`Good Job'
After landing, Bush mingled on the deck with pilots who flew the Lincoln's F-18 fighter jets over Iraq, shaking hands and telling them, ``Good job.'' The ship's F-18s dropped almost 1.2 million pounds of ordnance on Iraq, destroying tanks, Baath party buildings and other leadership targets, the White House said.
Bush is spending the night aboard the Lincoln, a floating city of 5,000 that has its own Zip code. Before dining with sailors, Bush watched from the bridge as some Navy pilots' planes roared off for their home bases across the U.S.
The 20,000 meals served daily during this deployment included more than 42,000 gallons of milk, 27,000 pounds of steak, 29,000 pounds of hamburger and 2,403 gallons of ice cream. Dentists performed about 227 root canals for sailors on board.
``The docs really like to go after these guys,'' said public affairs officer John Daniels. ``After all, it's not like they can get away.''
Last Updated: May 1, 2003 21:05 EDT
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