Bush: I'm thinking about Iraq

2005-06-21 08:13

Washington - President George W Bush said he thinks about Iraq "every day because I understand we have kids in harm's way," but he is determined to complete the mission there. He defended United States tactics in Iraq and at the prison camp at Guantanamo Bay.

At a joint news conference on Monday with European leaders, Bush said relations frayed by the war in Iraq were on the mend.

"There may have been past differences over Iraq, but as we move forward there is a need for the world to work together so that Iraq's democracy will succeed," Bush said.

A week after the White House signalled that the president would sharpen his Iraqi message to explain more clearly what is at stake, Bush repeatedly expressed empathy for families who have lost loved ones in battle.

We will complete mission

"I want those families to know: One, we're not going to leave them - not going to allow their mission to go in vain; and two, we will complete the mission, and the world will be better off for it," Bush said.

The White House meeting came two days before an 80-nation conference on Iraq is scheduled in Brussels, jointly sponsored by the United States and the European Union. It also comes amid disarray over the European Union's future.

Bush met at the White House with European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the rotating European Council.

"The European Union is, and will remain, a very strong and reliable partner for the United States," said Barroso.

Bush and the European leaders vowed continued co-operation.

"There have been past differences over Iraq," Bush said. "But as we move forward there is a need for the world to work together so that Iraq as a democracy will succeed."

While the US human-rights image has been tarnished by allegations of inmate abuse at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq and the US jail in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Bush insisted the detainees were being treated humanely and invited journalists to go to Guantanamo and see for themselves.

At the same time, Bush did appear to recognise the problem with those still held in Guantanamo without being charged or brought before a judge.

"About 200 or so have been released back to their countries. There needs to be a way forward on the other 500 that are there," Bush said. "We're now waiting for a federal court to decide whether or not they can be tried in a military court, where they'll have rights, of course, or in the civilian courts. We're just waiting for our judicial process to move - to move the process along."

"I think about Iraq every day. Every single day, because I understand we have kids in harm's way," the president said. "And I worry about their families; and I obviously, any time there's a death, I grieve."

But, Bush said, "We're making progress."

With more than 1 700 US troops dead in Iraq, the war is becoming increasingly unpopular, polls show.

- AP