We leave 'a free Iraq'
2004-06-07 10:52
Washington - US President George W Bush has refused to outline a specific scenario for a possible US withdrawal from Iraq, saying the emergence of freedom in the violence-torn country will signal the end of the US mission.
The comments, made in an exclusive interview broadcast by NBC News late on Sunday, came amid mounting international pressure to step up efforts to restore Iraqi sovereignty and lay the groundwork for a gradual draw-down of US forces.
Dozens of people, including mothers of American soldiers serving in Iraq, demonstrated outside the White House on Saturday, demanding that the president bring their loved ones home.
A Gallup opinion poll conducted at the end of last month showed 52% of Americans believed the war in Iraq was not worth all the sacrifices, while 45% held the opposite view.
But Bush insisted a new civil society in Iraq will dramatically reshape the Middle East, reducing the threat of terrorism - and declined to give even an approximate date when a US pullout could begin.
Free Iraq
"And the end is a free Iraq," Bush stated. "I'm not going to pick a timetable."
A proposed UN Security Council resolution granting international legitimacy to Iraq's new interim government was expected to contain a provision limiting a UN mandate for US-led forces in Iraq to the remainder of this year and the next, according to US Secretary of State Colin Powell.
But Powell made clear the continued presence of US forces in the country will depend on the wishes of the Iraqi government, rather than a UN sanction.
Bush said the US mission at this juncture was to train and equip Iraqi forces to enable them to stand up to armed insurgents, which, in turn, will take the pressure off US forces.
A reassessment of US troop levels, he explained, will be possible after this goal was achieved.
Laying down some rules
He said US commanders will work out an agreement with the Iraqi interim government laying down some rules for operations on different circumstances.
But he promised American soldiers will not find themselves in a situation where they will have to seek permission from the Iraqi government to defend themselves.
"And the American people have got to understand that part of winning the war on terror is to encourage the habits of liberty in parts of the world that need the habits of liberty," Bush pointed out.
He said winning the war on terror required more than just hunting down and al-Qaeda.
"It also means installing governments that don't necessarily look like America," Bush stressed.
He argued that "habits of freedom" developed with US help in countries like Afghanistan and Iraq will increase stability in places like Pakistan and Turkey.
"What I'm trying to do is what I think is right," the president argued. "And what is right is to fight terror. And what is right is to spread freedom. And what is right is to stand on the values that my country and our country upholds."
- AFP