Bush, Blair admit Iraq mistakes
2006-05-26 07:32
Washington - US President George W Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair bluntly acknowledged the Iraq war had been marked by "mistakes" and "missteps" but insisted the world must support the new Baghdad government.
During an extraordinary White House press conference on Thursday, the political brothers-in-arms expressed distress at many aspects of the campaign which brought down Saddam Hussein but also undermined their own popularity.
Bush expressed regret for the Abu Ghraib prison scandal and some of his tough-talking comments.
Blair said the "de-Baathification" of Iraq - the clearing out of Saddam followers - had been badly handled.
'Learned from our mistakes'
There was none of the determined bravado that marked earlier press conferences after their regular meetings over the past three years.
"No question that the Iraq war has created a sense of consternation here in America," said Bush. "I mean, when you turn on your TV screens and see innocent people die day in and day out, it affects the mentality of our country.
"Not everything since liberation has turned out as the way we had expected or hoped. We've learned from our mistakes, adjusted our methods and have built on our successes," said the US president.
'Bring 'em on' was wrong
Bush said he should not have made gung-ho comments such as "bring 'em on" when referring to the insurgents in July 2003 as the attacks on US troops and Iraqi civilians mounted.
"I learned some lessons about expressing myself maybe in a little more sophisticated manner," he declared.
Both Bush and Blair have seen their public standings collapse over the past year, in large part because of the war, but both insist they were right to order the March, 2003 invasion.
Doing the right thing
"The decision to remove Saddam Hussein from power was controversial. We did not find the weapons of mass destruction that we all believed were there, and that's raised questions about whether the sacrifice in Iraq has been worth it," Bush said.
"Despite setbacks and missteps, I strongly believe we did and are doing the right thing," he added.
Withdrawal
Bush refused to set a timetable for the withdrawal of the 135 000 US troops in Iraq, insisting "we will keep the force level there necessary to win".
With a majority of US public opinion now against the war, Bush said: "It's important for the American people to know that politics isn't going to make the decision as to the size of our force level."
The president said the world could not abandon Iraq. "Make no mistake about it: What you're seeing in Iraq could happen all over the world if we don't stand fast and achieve the objective."
Blair optimistic
Blair spoke of his optimism after a visit to Baghdad on Monday to meet the new Prime Minister Nur al-Maliki. He said he believed it would be possible for Iraqi forces to take over nearly all security duties by the end of 2007.
"I came away thinking that the challenge is still immense, but I also came away more certain than ever that we should rise to it."
Blair also acknowledged errors, but insisted there should be no regrets.
"I think it's easy to go back over mistakes that we may have made. But the biggest reason why Iraq has been difficult is the determination by our opponents to defeat us. And I don't think we should be surprised at that."