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Puck78
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Bush admits Iraq concerns
James Sturcke and agencies
Wednesday October 25, 2006
Guardian Unlimited
George Bush admitted a number of concerns over the situation Iraq, but said troops would stay until the 'job is done'. Photograph: Ron Edmonds/AP
The US president, George Bush, today admitted he was "not satisfied" with the situation in Iraq.
In a 15-minute speech, delivered at the White House, Mr Bush listed a number of concerns with the course of events since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein more than three years ago.
They included the failure to find weapons of mass destruction, the loss of life and the growth of insurgency.
However, the president also reiterated that US troops would not withdraw "until the job is done", saying he was prepared to send more forces to Iraq if military chiefs asked for them.
"The only way of losing in Iraq is if we leave before the job is done ... defeat will only come if the United States becomes isolationist," he said.
Mr Bush, speaking two weeks before midterm elections take place in the US, said he would "bring the troops home tomorrow" if he did not think a peaceful Iraq was vital for US security.
He said defeating terrorism in Iraq was "essential to turning back the cause of extremism in the Middle East".
"I know many Americans are not satisfied with the situation in Iraq," he said. "I'm not satisfied either.
"That is why we are constantly adjusting our tactics across the country to meet the changing threat. But we cannot allow our dissatisfaction to turn into disillusionment about our purpose in this war."
Mr Bush said the US should not look at every setback as a mistake or a cause for troops to come home, urging people not to believe "enemy propaganda" that the presence of US troops in Iraq was the cause of all its problems.
"I know the American people understand the stakes in Iraq," Mr Bush said. "They want to win. They will support the war as long as they see a path to victory.
"They can have confidence that we will prevail. There is tough fighting ahead. The road to victory will not be easy. We should not expect a simple solution."
During his speech and a subsequent question session, Mr Bush repeatedly said that US tactics in Iraq were flexible in response to the changing threats from insurgents.
"As the enemy shifts tactics, we are shifting our tactics as well," he said. "Americans have no intention of taking sides in a sectarian struggle or standing in the crossfire between rival factions.
"Our mission is to help the elected government defeat common enemies. To bring peace and stability to Iraq and make our nation more secure. Our goals are unchanging. We are flexible in our methods."
Mr Bush said the Iraqi prime minister, Nuri al-Maliki, had been in his post for only five months, and had to solve problems caused by "decades of tyrannical rule".
He attempted to set out how the US was urging Iraqi authorities to take "bold measures" to save their country, and said the US was also refining training strategies so Iraqis could play a greater role in operations against the insurgency.
In his opening words, Mr Bush departed sharply from a practice of not talking about specific deaths in Iraq.
"There has been heavy fighting - many enemy fighters have been killed or captured, and we've suffered casualties of our own," he said.
"This month, we've lost 93 American service members in Iraq - the most since October 2005. During roughly the same period, more than 300 Iraqi security personnel have given their lives in battle.
"Iraqi civilians have suffered unspeakable violence at the hands of the terrorists, insurgents, illegal militias, armed groups and criminals."
Mr Bush described these developments as "a serious concern to me, and a serious concern to the American people".
The president also said operations to secure Baghdad had encountered greater resistance recently, adding that some of the Iraqi security forces "had performed below expectations".
James Sturcke and agencies
Wednesday October 25, 2006
Guardian Unlimited
George Bush admitted a number of concerns over the situation Iraq, but said troops would stay until the 'job is done'. Photograph: Ron Edmonds/AP
The US president, George Bush, today admitted he was "not satisfied" with the situation in Iraq.
In a 15-minute speech, delivered at the White House, Mr Bush listed a number of concerns with the course of events since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein more than three years ago.
They included the failure to find weapons of mass destruction, the loss of life and the growth of insurgency.
However, the president also reiterated that US troops would not withdraw "until the job is done", saying he was prepared to send more forces to Iraq if military chiefs asked for them.
"The only way of losing in Iraq is if we leave before the job is done ... defeat will only come if the United States becomes isolationist," he said.
Mr Bush, speaking two weeks before midterm elections take place in the US, said he would "bring the troops home tomorrow" if he did not think a peaceful Iraq was vital for US security.
He said defeating terrorism in Iraq was "essential to turning back the cause of extremism in the Middle East".
"I know many Americans are not satisfied with the situation in Iraq," he said. "I'm not satisfied either.
"That is why we are constantly adjusting our tactics across the country to meet the changing threat. But we cannot allow our dissatisfaction to turn into disillusionment about our purpose in this war."
Mr Bush said the US should not look at every setback as a mistake or a cause for troops to come home, urging people not to believe "enemy propaganda" that the presence of US troops in Iraq was the cause of all its problems.
"I know the American people understand the stakes in Iraq," Mr Bush said. "They want to win. They will support the war as long as they see a path to victory.
"They can have confidence that we will prevail. There is tough fighting ahead. The road to victory will not be easy. We should not expect a simple solution."
During his speech and a subsequent question session, Mr Bush repeatedly said that US tactics in Iraq were flexible in response to the changing threats from insurgents.
"As the enemy shifts tactics, we are shifting our tactics as well," he said. "Americans have no intention of taking sides in a sectarian struggle or standing in the crossfire between rival factions.
"Our mission is to help the elected government defeat common enemies. To bring peace and stability to Iraq and make our nation more secure. Our goals are unchanging. We are flexible in our methods."
Mr Bush said the Iraqi prime minister, Nuri al-Maliki, had been in his post for only five months, and had to solve problems caused by "decades of tyrannical rule".
He attempted to set out how the US was urging Iraqi authorities to take "bold measures" to save their country, and said the US was also refining training strategies so Iraqis could play a greater role in operations against the insurgency.
In his opening words, Mr Bush departed sharply from a practice of not talking about specific deaths in Iraq.
"There has been heavy fighting - many enemy fighters have been killed or captured, and we've suffered casualties of our own," he said.
"This month, we've lost 93 American service members in Iraq - the most since October 2005. During roughly the same period, more than 300 Iraqi security personnel have given their lives in battle.
"Iraqi civilians have suffered unspeakable violence at the hands of the terrorists, insurgents, illegal militias, armed groups and criminals."
Mr Bush described these developments as "a serious concern to me, and a serious concern to the American people".
The president also said operations to secure Baghdad had encountered greater resistance recently, adding that some of the Iraqi security forces "had performed below expectations".
www.amnesty.org
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Comments
What a clown, that Junior
Wow thats long list of enemies. criminals? wtf?
lol. He forgot to include bad people and various other types of enemy.
http://forums.pearljam.com/showthread.php?t=272825
yeah and time traveling robots
www.amnesty.org.uk
Troubled souls unite, we got ourselves tonight...
Astoria, Dublin, Reading 06
Katowice, Wembley 07
SBE, Manchester, O2 09
Hyde Park 10
Manchester 1&2 12
This is just g'bye for now...
It's somehow scary to see someone so blind to what happens around him.