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Bush suggests US troops will still be in
Iraq into 2009 -
22.3.2006
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WASHINGTON (AFP)
- President George W. Bush hinted at a years-long US
deployment in Iraq, saying that future US presidents
and Iraqi governments would decide when the last US
soldiers leave that war-torn country.
But Bush, who leaves office in January 2009, used a
wide-ranging press conference to assure a US public
unhappy with the war effort that he would call US
troops home if he thought victory was impossible.
Asked whether all US forces would someday come home,
the embattled US president said: "That, of course,
is an objective. And that will be decided by future
presidents and future governments of Iraq."
Bush also hinted at rifts in the diplomatic approach
to Iran's nuclear program, saying that Britain,
France, Germany, Russia, China and the United States
would meet later this week "to make sure that the
message remains unified and concerted." |
U.S. President George W. Bush
Photo: White House |
"It's important for our citizens to understand that
we've got to deal with this issue diplomatically
now," he said. "If the Iranians were to have a
nuclear weapon, they could blackmail the world."
Russia and China, both veto-wielding permanent UN
Security Council members, have resisted calls for
the council to pressure Iran over its nuclear power
program. Tehran denies US charges it secretly seeks
atomic weapons.
Bush also said that the United States would make
clear, in any talks with Iran about the situation in
Iraq, that Washington viewed efforts to stoke
sectarian violence and help arm insurgents as
"unacceptable."
"This is a way for us to make it clear to them about
what's right or wrong in their activities inside of
Iraq," said the president, who denied that the
strife-torn country had slipped into civil war.
"There's going to be more tough fighting ahead," he
said, but "the Iraqis took a look and decided not to
go to civil war" after the attack on a revered
Shiite Muslim shrine.
"I'm optimistic we'll succeed. If not, I'd pull our
troops out. If I didn't believe we had a plan for
victory, I wouldn't leave our people in harm's way,"
he said. "I wouldn't put those kids there."
Some 2,300 US soldiers have been killed and many
more wounded since the war in Iraq began almost
exactly three years ago, and the open-ended conflict
has dragged Bush's poll numbers to some of their
lowest levels ever.
The press conference came as some in his Republican
party have worried that his unpopularity may drag
down their prospects to retain control over the US
Senate and House of Representatives in November
mid-term elections.
For the second straight day, Bush took on critics
who say his sunny forecasts for Iraq are out of
touch with the bloody daily reality, insisting he
was "realistic" and warning against a hasty US
withdrawal.
And for what may have been the first time, the
president said he knew things in Iraq were difficult
because "I hear it from our troops" -- not only the
media he has accused of focusing on violence rather
than progress.
Bush, who has repeatedly said that US soldiers will
come home only as Iraq's fledgling security forces
can replace them, warned that a hasty withdrawal
would embolden terrorists and discourage reformers
in the Muslim world.
"If people in Iran, for example, who desire to have
an Iranian-style democracy, Iranian-style freedom,
if they see us lose our nerve, it's likely to
undermine their boldness and their desire," he said.
"A democracy in Iraq is going to affect the
neighborhood. A democracy in Iraq is going to
inspire reformers in a part of the world that is
desperate for reformation," he said.
Amid mounting calls for a staff shake up at the
White House, the president also rejected calls for
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's removal, saying
"I don't believe he should resign. I think he's done
a fine job."
But Bush suggested that he might make a change,
saying: "I'm not going to announce it right now."
AFP
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