'Our troops are ready'

2005-09-28 22:19

Washington - President George W Bush warned on Wednesday there would be an upsurge in violence in Iraq before next month's voting but said the terrorists would fail.

"Our troops are ready," he said.

His remarks in the Rose Garden at the White House came a day after Iraqi and United States forces announced they had killed Abdullah Abu Azzam, the No 2 al-Qaeda leader in Iraq, at a weekend raid in Baghdad.

"This guy's a brutal killer," said Bush.

Al-Qaeda in Iraq issued an internet statement denying Abu Azzam was its deputy leader, calling him "one of al-Qaeda's many soldiers" and "the leader of one its battalions operating in Baghdad".

The US-led coalition, however, called Abu Azzam the mastermind of an escalation in suicide bombings that had killed nearly 700 people in Baghdad since April.

"We can expect they'll do everything in their power to try to stop the march of freedom," said Bush. "And our troops are ready for it."

Bush facing declining public support

Bush spoke after a meeting with General George Casey, the top commander in Iraq, and General John Abizaid, the commander of US central command.

He said he has dispatched the two generals to congress to brief members on the war on terrorism and operations in Iraq.

"The support of congress for our troops and our mission is important and Americans need to know about the gains we have made in recent weeks and months.

"They need to know the way we're adapting our tactics, and the way we're changing our strategies to meet the needs on the ground."

Bush cited as evidence of the progress he wants lawmakers - and Americans - to see, the killing of the al-Qaeda leader, the increasing numbers of Iraqi troops capable of guarding cities and the closing-off of a main route for foreign terrorists coming into Iraq from Syria.

The president is facing declining public support for the war that has claimed the lives of at least 1 925 members of the US military.

Bush popularity at all-time low

A weekend anti-war demonstration in Washington drew an estimated 100 000 to the capital and polls showed Bush's approval rating was at the lowest point of his presidency.

National polls have shown a majority of Americans now believe the war was a mistake.

In an AP-Ipsos poll this month, only 37% approved or leaned toward approval of how Bush had handled the situation in Iraq; strong disapproval outweighed strong approval by 2-1, 46% to 22%.

Insurgent attacks have escalated ahead of an October 15 referendum on a new constitution that has raised fears of a bloody sectarian split between Iraq's Shi'ite Muslim majority and the disaffected Sunni minority.

If two-thirds of voters in any three of Iraq's 18 provinces reject the document on October 15, a new government must be formed and the process of writing the constitution started over.

"As these milestones approach we can expect there to be increasing violence," said Bush.

- AP