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| Bush sez Iraqi progress may speed up withdrawl of US troops |
| 2006-01-05 |
| President Bush said Wednesday that the Iraqi police and armed forces were improving their performance and that if 2006 unfolded as he expected, he should be able to consider reducing the number of American troops in Iraq later this year. Speaking after a briefing with his senior commanders at the Pentagon, Mr. Bush continued his campaign to shore up public opinion about the war, casting it again as part of a broader struggle to protect the United States from Al Qaeda and pointing to the progress Iraqis are making toward democratic self-government. Painting a picture of progress while acknowledging that violence would continue, he spoke about how the Iraqi Army had taken the lead in protecting polling places during the Dec 15 parliamentary elections and about the halting steps since then toward the creation of a permanent Iraqi government. He discussed a new program under which American forces were working side by side with Iraqi police trainees, much as they have with Iraqi military units. Concerning troop levels, Mr. Bush stuck to the formula he has used for the several years: American troops will begin coming home in large numbers only when his generals determine Iraq has stabilized and Iraqi forces can keep it that way. In doing so, he took a veiled swipe at Democrats in Congress calling for an immediate or speedy withdrawal. "Later this year, if Iraqis continue to make progress on the security and political sides that we expect, we can discuss further possible adjustments with the leaders of a new government in Iraq," he said. "My decisions will be based upon conditions on the ground and the recommendations of our commanders, not based by false political timetables in Washington, D.C.," he said. "I'm not going to let politics get in the way of doing the right thing in Iraq, and the American people have got to understand that." Mr. Bush and his team get regular briefings from commanders in Iraq, and the session at the Pentagon on Wednesday appeared to be as much an excuse for him to continue his efforts to rally public opinion about the war as for him to get any new information on the military situation. A few hours after Mr. Bush spoke, Vice President Dick Cheney struck some of the same themes in a speech in Washington. Mr. Cheney, who has consistently advocated an expansive view of presidential powers, especially in wartime, also made an unusually personal defense of the administration's use of the National Security Agency to eavesdrop on some international calls involving people in the United States. Disclosure of the program set off a storm of criticism that the administration had infringed on the civil liberties of Americans and possibly acted illegally. Mr. Cheney cited his early career in Washington, in the Ford administration right after Watergate, "at a time when there was great and legitimate concern about civil liberties and about potential abuses within the executive branch." That period, he said, "shapes my own outlook to this very day." "We were adamant about following the law and protecting civil liberties of all Americans, and we did so," he said. "Three decades later, I work for a president who shares those same values. He has made clear from the outset, both publicly and privately, that our duty to uphold the law of the land admits no exceptions in wartime." In his appearance at the Pentagon, Mr. Bush repeated themes he has struck in recent weeks, including an acknowledgment of the difficulties the United States has faced in Iraq. He referred to reports of abuse of Sunni Arabs by Shiite Iraqi policemen, saying such conduct was unacceptable. And he acknowledged the pain of Americans who had lost service members, including "those who had a sorrowful season because a seat at the table was empty." |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #3 President Bush said Wednesday that the Iraqi police and armed forces were improving their performance and that if 2006 unfolded as he expected, he should be able to consider reducing the number of American troops in Iraq later this year. I don't see the need to keep repeating this. Objectives and details should be old hat by now, and anyone that still doesn't get it at this late date should just get a swift boot in the ass instead of an explanation. If GWB really needs to "shore up public opinion", he would do well to point out clearly how the opposition and most of the media are obviously trying to torpedo our chances for success. |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2006-01-05 16:43 |
| #2 "I'm not going to let politics get in the way of doing the right thing in Iraq, and the American people have got to understand that." That was no "veiled swipe" folks it was the proverbial "shot over the bow". |
| Posted by: DepotGuy 2006-01-05 11:31 |
| #1 Scroll down on Officers Club's homepage, for a discussion of US field use of After Action Reviews (AARs), to maintain tactical advantage over Iraq terrorists. I like the tactics; the general nation-building strategy is what is unworkable. http://officersclub.blogspot.com/ |
| Posted by: CaziFarkus 2006-01-05 02:09 |