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World is a better place - Bush
20/03/2008 07:25 - (SA)
Washington - US President George W Bush defended the Iraq war defiantly on Wednesday as US troops begin a sixth year of combat in the long and costly conflict that has dominated his presidency.
Bush conceded the war has been harder and more expensive than anticipated but insisted it has all been necessary to keep Americans safe.
Protesters marked the anniversary of the US invasion with demonstrations near the White House and in other cities, though they seemed to lack the fervour of those that preceded the war.
'The world is better'
In a speech at the Pentagon, Bush offered some of his boldest assessments of progress and said the war's legacy is absolute: "The world is better, and the United States of America is safer."
A war-weary country is not nearly so convinced.
The majority of Americans think the March 19, 2003, invasion was a mistake, polls show. However, Americans are more split about how the war is going and when US troops should be pulled home, as reduced violence in Iraq has begun to influence the public view.
Almost 4 000 US military members have died, and more than 29 000 have been wounded. The cost is $500bn and counting.
"No one would argue that this war has not come at a high cost in lives and treasure," Bush said. "But those costs are necessary when we consider the cost of a strategic victory for our enemies in Iraq."
The United States has about 158 000 troops in Iraq, and that number is expected to drop to 140 000 by summer. Bush signalled anew that he will pull no more troops home as long as his commanders worry that doing so will imperil recently improved conditions in Iraq.
"Having come so far, and achieved so much, we're not going to let this happen," Bush said.
Retreat would lead to chaos in Iraq
Bush starkly described the costs of trying to end the war too quickly. From his perspective, retreat would lead to chaos in Iraq, embolden al-Qaeda to pursue an attack on the United States and encourage Iran to develop nuclear weapons.
"To allow this to happen would be to ignore the lessons of September the 11th and make it more likely that America would suffer another attack like the one we experienced that day," Bush said.
Bush praised Sunni tribal leaders for rising up against al-Qaeda in Iraq. He said that has led to similar uprising across the country. Bush put the figure at 90 000 local citizens who are protecting their communities against extremists.
All that, combined with a strategic influx of US troops last year, has "opened the door to a major victory in the broader war on terror," Bush said.
"Iraq was supposed to be the place where al-Qaeda rallied Arab masses to drive America out," Bush said. "Instead, Iraq has become the place where Arabs joined with Americans to drive al-Qaeda out. In Iraq, we are witnessing the first large-scale Arab uprising against Osama bin Laden, his grim ideology."
Saddam's removal
Bush did not mention that weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, a primary justification for the war, were never found.
Bush spoke of Saddam's removal as a worthy end in itself, ridding Iraq of death squads, torture chambers and rape rooms.
He also jabbed at political critics who he said "still call for retreat". The message was similar to the "no surrender" theme of Bush's would-be Republican successor, Senator John McCain, who also warns about pulling troops home too fast.
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