Bush: US will win terror war

2005-11-20 12:01

Osan Air Base, South Korea - With the debate over a military pullout growing increasingly bitter back home, President Bush said Saturday that he is determined to keep troops in Iraq until the mission is complete.

"We will never back down and we will never give in and we will never expect less than complete victory," Bush said during a quick layover at this military installation that is home to the primary US Air Force unit in Korea. "We will defeat the enemy in Iraq."

The president, wearing a brown leather bomber jacket with a patch that said "Commander in Chief," said a pullout would leave Iraq open to terrorists who would launch attacks on the United States and moderate Arab states.

"I'm going to make you this commitment: This is not going to happen on my watch," he said.

Bush spoke about three hours after the House overwhelmingly voted down a resolution urging the pullout to begin immediately. The measure was staged by Republicans - and designed to fail - a day after democratic representative John Murtha, a prominent defence hawk, called for a US withdrawal from Iraq over six months.

"In Washington, some who say the sacrifice is too great and they urge us to set a date for withdrawal before we complete our mission," Bush said.

Bush said that a senior commander in Iraq, Maj. Gen. William Webster, had said that setting a deadline for withdrawal would be "a recipe for disaster."

"General Webster is right," Bush said. "So long as I am commander in chief, our strategy in Iraq will be driven by our commanders on the ground. We will stay in the fight until we achieve the victory that our brave troops have fought for."

Thousands of troops in camouflage uniforms crowded into a chilly hangar and spilled out on the airfield to see the president. Air Force One flew low over the audience before landing at the base.

Traveling in Asia, there has been no respite from Iraq for Bush. He's had to deal with an Iraq rebuff from a friend, South Korea, and with turmoil over his policies back home.

In a speech on Thursday, Murtha said, "Our troops have become the primary target of the insurgency. They are united against US forces and we have become a catalyst for violence. The war in Iraq is not going as advertised. It is a flawed policy wrapped in illusion."

Bush was wrapping up a three-day visit here by attending the closing meetings of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.

- Dow Jones