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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: PROLIFE who wrote (752207)	10/22/2006 9:34:06 PM
From: Jamey	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769670

Touched a raw nerve. Now comes the accusations. Typical of you.

To: PROLIFE who wrote (752207)	10/22/2006 10:21:38 PM
From: pompsander	Respond to of 769670

Quick, blame the Democrats... __________________________________ Bush sees support ebb away for military strategy in Iraq By Edward Luce and Demetri Sevastopulo in Washington Published: October 21 2006 03:00 \| Last updated: October 21 2006 03:00 Support for George W. Bush's strategy of "staying the course" in Iraq appears to be crumbling, with a growing number of fellow Republicans and senior military figures questioning how long the US can sustain its presence. The US president got a jolting reminder of the deteriorating situation when the Mahdi army of hardline Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr took control of the southern city of Amara. The putsch raised more questions over the stability of Iraq's coalition government under Nouri al-Maliki, who is nominally supported by the Sadrist group that carried it out. It follows some of the worst violence in Iraq since the US-led invasion, with more than 100 civilian deaths a day over the past three weeks and more than 70 US military casualties. Major General William Caldwell, US military spokesman in Baghdad, acknowledged on Thursday that the strategy of "clear and hold" in Baghdad was failing. Mr Bush conceded yesterday that he was increasingly flexible about America's military strategy. In the past few weeks he has abandoned talk of achieving "victory" in Iraq - previously a stock-in-trade of presidential announcements. ''We are constantly adjusting tactics so we can achieve our objectives," Mr Bush said. "And right now, it's tough." Domestic pressure on him is mounting ahead of a widely predicted Republican defeat in the November 7 mid-term elections. "We are now way past the tipping point on the ground in Iraq," said Gary Samore at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. "But it is doubtful there will be any change of course until we see the results of the mid-term elections." Mr Bush's difficulties have been exacerbated by growing dissent within his own party, with Republican congressional candidates distancing themselves from Washington's "stay the course" line. In what analysts see as a sign of growing desperation, some even support a widely-distrusted plan to partition Iraq into separate Kurdish, Shia and Sunni entities. Attention is increasingly focused on the Iraq Study Group, an independent body led by James Baker, the former secretary of state, and Lee Hamilton, a former Democratic lawmaker, which is expected to recommend a drastic change of course. Some think it could lead to the departure of Donald Rumsfeld, defence secretary, soon after the polls. "A lot rides on the outcome of the elections," an ISG member in Washington said last night. "If the Democrats win, the pressure on Mr Bush to start drawing down the troops could be overwhelming. If the Republicans retain control of Congress, then you could see more US troops sent there in a last-ditch effort to stabilise the violence." Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2006 ft.com

To: PROLIFE who wrote (752207)	10/22/2006 10:30:45 PM
From: pompsander	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769670

Honor thy father, George... ____________________________ Bush chides father for election remarks Sun Oct 22, 3:32 PM ET WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush gently admonished his father for saying he hates to think what life would be like for his son if the Democrats win control of Congress in the November 7 election. ADVERTISEMENT It was the latest sign of possible strain in the relationship between the two men. "He shouldn't be speculating like this, because -- he should have called me ahead of time and I'd tell him they're not going to (win)," a smiling Bush told ABC "This Week" in an interview broadcast on Sunday. It follows the recent release of a book, "State of Denial," by journalist Bob Woodward, that says the 82-year-old former president was "anguished" over how the Iraq war has played out, although he has dismissed that account. Earlier this month, the elder Bush was reported to have told a Republican fund-raiser in a Philadelphia suburb that "if we have some of these wild Democrats in charge of these (congressional) committees, it will be a ghastly thing for our country." He was also quoted as saying, "I would hate to think ... what my son's life would be like" if their Republican Party lost its majorities. The two men have rarely appeared together in public in recent years. But they praised each other at the October 7 christening of a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, named the USS George H.W. Bush, after the 41st president. Though the elder Bush has said his job is to stay on the sidelines, that did not stop him from raising a warning about the prospects for a Democratic takeover of Congress. Asked whether he had thought about the possibility, the president told ABC: "Not really ... I'm a person that believes we'll continue to control the House and the Senate." Polls show Democrats running ahead. They must pick up 15 House seats and six Senate seats to take over Congress. A power shift would create a political nightmare for Bush, whose public approval ratings are below 40 percent. His domestic legislative agenda would be stymied and he would see stepped-up pressure to withdraw from Iraq while possibly facing congressional investigations into the unpopular war.