Bush's war not hit-and-run

2003-08-06 09:01

Crawford, Texas - One hundred days after he declared major combat in Iraq was over, United States President George W Bush is still tied up with the Iraqi dossier.

He also is facing criticism from some of his Democratic opponents, who accuse him of dragging the US into war.

By announcing an end to large-scale military operations in Iraq on May 1, Bush inaugurated a second phase of the US-British intervention, which involved rebuilding and democratising the country.

The backdrop chosen for this announcement was an aircraft carrier cruising near the coast of California. Bush landed on its deck wearing the uniform of a fighter pilot, which gave the scene a triumphal aspect.

But since then, more than 50 American soldiers have been killed and many others wounded as a result of guerrilla operations, and the plan for Iraq's reconstruction has stumbled more than once.

The first US civilian administrator for Iraq, Jay Garner, was quickly replaced by Paul Bremer. The establishment of an Iraqi provisional government theoretically to be followed by elections is just one of the difficulties he faces.

Weapons of mass destruction still missing

The Bush administration is also the target of a barrage of criticism for allegedly hyping information on Iraq's suspected weapons of mass destruction in order to persuade congress and the American public to support the war.

These weapons have still not been found.

In this situation, Bush is trying to place the invasion of Iraq in the context of the war on terror.

"The rise of a free and peaceful Iraq is critical to the stability of the Middle East.

"A stable Middle East is critical to the security of the American people," Bush said at a July 30 press conference, days before leaving on a four-week holiday at his ranch in Crawford, Texas.

Administration officials point out the president has never tried to conceal that the post-war period in Iraq would not be easy.

They compare present criticism with attacks on the administration a few days after the beginning of combat, when opponents of the president charged that the US army was poorly prepared to face resistance from troops loyal to Saddam Hussein.

Another thorn in the White House's side is that four months after the fall of Baghdad, the deposed Iraqi leader still remains at large.

The July 22 deaths of his two sons, who were killed by US soldiers, is the main success chalked up by the Bush administration which has exploited that fact to the hilt, publishing photographs of the men's bodies.

But Bush is still benefiting from very broad support expressed in the United States for the war.

Many Democratic presidential candidates voted for a congressional resolution authorising it.

Taking 'personal responsibility'

The president no longer hesitates to defend members of his administration and take responsibility for his decisions.

On July 30, he said he was taking "personal responsibility" for everything he had said.

This included a passage in his last state-of-the-union address, in which he said Iraq had sought to buy uranium in Africa, a charge that has since been dismissed as unsubstantiated.

His goal was to protect national security adviser Condoleezza Rice from charges of letting this dubious information into the presidential speech, which is seen as the most important annual statement made before members of congress.

- AFP