Washington – President Bush declared to the nation Sunday night that the United States was winning the war in Iraq and then warned that an early withdrawal of U.S. troops would make the global terrorist movement “more dangerous than ever before.”
In a 16-minute address televised live from the Oval Office, his first in that setting since he announced he had ordered the Iraq invasion in March 2003, Bush offered a reaffirmation of an unpopular war. He also asked viewers for patience with a conflict that has cost more than 2,100 American lives and the lives of an estimated 30,000 Iraqis.
“Some look at the challenges in Iraq and conclude that the war is lost and not worth another dime or another day,” Bush said. “I don’t believe that. Our military commanders do not believe that. Our troops in the field, who bear the burden and make sacrifice, do not believe that America has lost.”
He added: “And not even the terrorists believe it. We know from their communications that they feel a tightening noose and fear the rise of a democratic Iraq.”
The president, speaking in a steady voice punctuated by the constant gesturing of his hands, nonetheless acknowledged his critics more than he has in the past and adopted a more humble tone.
“I also want to speak to those of you who did not support my decision to send troops to Iraq,” Bush said. “I have heard your disagreement, and I know how deeply it is felt.”
But Bush drew a sharp distinction between “honest critics who recognize what is wrong” and “defeatists who refuse to see that anything is right.”
He also made clear that he had not wavered in his commitment to the war.
“I do not expect you to support everything I do, but tonight I have a request,” Bush said. “Do not give in to despair, and do not give up on this fight for freedom.”
The president held out the possibility of U.S. troop withdrawals in 2006, but he made no promises and did not mention anticipated Pentagon reductions of troops to 138,000 in the next few months, which would be a return to the military’s “base- line” level before Thursday’s election in Iraq.
There are about 160,000 U.S. troops in Iraq, a number that was bolstered to keep order during last week’s vote.
“We will see the Iraqi military gaining strength and confidence, and the democratic process moving forward,” Bush said. “As these achievements come, it should require fewer American troops to accomplish our mission.
“I will make decisions on troop levels based on the progress we see on the ground and advice of our military leaders, not based on artificial timetables set by politicians in Washington.”
Democrats countered that while Bush had made some progress in Iraq, he was glossing over the difficulties and that chaos remained a possibility.
“Democracy as we know it is not in the offing,” Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., said on CNN after Bush’s speech. “That is not a realistic expectation.”
The president’s address, his fifth major speech on Iraq in 19 days, was the culmination of an intense campaign by the White House to try to stop a slide in support for the war that began last summer and intensified this fall.
Bush’s remarks, delivered to a prime- time audience a week before Christmas, were an attempt to drive home the major points of his four previous Iraq speeches before Americans turn their attention to the holidays.
The president’s earlier speeches focused on Iraq reconstruction, politics and security.
KEY PASSAGES OF THE PRESIDENT’S ADDRESS
On the war on terrorism
“The terrorists do not merely object to American actions in Iraq and elsewhere – they object to our deepest values and our way of life. And if we were not fighting them in Iraq, in Afghanistan, in Southeast Asia and in other places, the terrorists would not be peaceful citizens – they would be on the offense and headed our way.”
On the strategy in Iraq
“We have put in place a strategy to achieve this goal – a strategy I have been discussing in detail over the last few weeks. This plan has three critical elements:
“First, our coalition will remain on the offense – finding and clearing out the enemy, transferring control of more territory to Iraqi units and building up the Iraqi security forces so they can increasingly lead the fight….
“Second, we are helping the Iraqi government establish the institutions of a unified and lasting democracy, in which all of Iraq’s people are included and represented….
“Third, after a number of setbacks, our coalition is moving forward with a reconstruction plan to revive Iraq’s economy and infrastructure – and to give Iraqis confidence that a free life will be a better life.”
On the political fallout
“I also want to speak to those of you who did not support my decision to send troops to Iraq: I have heard your disagreement, and I know how deeply it is felt. Yet now there are only two options before our country: victory or defeat.”
On what lies ahead
“To retreat before victory would be an act of recklessness and dishonor, and I will not allow it.”