WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush on Wednesday said the enemy in Iraq is ``far from being defeated,'' but he vowed not to be rushed into adjusting his strategy and gave little indication that he intends to veer sharply from the direction his war policies have taken.``We're not going to give up. The stakes are too high and the consequences too grave,'' Bush said after meeting at the Pentagon with the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and Rumsfeld's designated successor, Robert Gates.
Bush said he was considering a wide range of options he has heard during a week of consultations, while rejecting ideas ``that would lead to defeat.'' He said the rejected ideas included ``leaving before the job is done, ideas such as not helping this (Iraqi) government'' to function and gain Iraqis' confidence. ``But one thing people have got to understand is we'll be headed toward achieving our objectives,'' he said. ``And I repeat: If we lose our nerve, if we're not steadfast in our determination to help the Iraqi government succeed, we will be handing Iraq over to an enemy that would do us harm.''
The president said he would present soon a ``new way forward'' in Iraq, while continuing to support the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, whose ability to forge a viable governing coalition is questioned privately by some administration officials. He cited ``horrific'' violence in Iraq carried out by a ruthless enemy bent on toppling ``this young democracy.''
None of his comments sounded like a prelude to withdrawing substantial number of U.S. troops over the coming year, as was recommended by the Iraqi Study Group, a bipartisan commission that studied war options since March.
| Why, oh why, can't this man say this every day? From before the invasion to today he should have been out there hammering away this message. Get the job done. Help the Iraqis build their country so long as the Iraqis will do that. Deal with the terrorists. Don't hand the country over to those who mean us harm. Say that every blinking day. |