Bush to continue Iraq mission
2006-11-08 16:04
Baghdad - US President George W Bush will continue his mission in Iraq despite the heavy losses suffered by the Republicans in mid-term congressional elections, ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad said on Wednesday.
"He sees success (in Iraq) as an imperative for American's national interests. He is committed to working with both houses of congress to get the support needed to succeed in the mission in Iraq," Khalilzad told reporters.
"The president is the architect of US foreign policy. He is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces. He understands what is at stake in Iraq," Khalilzad said.
Khalilzad, however, stressed that Iraqi leaders needed to take "tough decisions" to make a change in the lives of Iraqi people.
"We want Iraqi leaders to make the tough decisions that need to be made to achieve the political and security milestones they have agreed. Americans are prepared to support Iraq in taking these necessary steps," Khalilzad said.
"In the coming weeks and months, American leaders will discuss ways Americans can encourage Iraqi leaders to take these steps."
Sacrifices for Iraq
Khalilzad said Americans had made "great sacrifices for Iraq. And they want those sacrifices to make a positive difference for Iraq and particularly for the people of Iraq."
Since the March 2003 invasion, the US military has lost 2 835 troops in Iraq.
"Americans know that Iraq has had decades of tyranny, and is now working to develop a multi-ethnic, multi-sectarian representative democracy."
Iraq is engulfed in a bitter Shi'ite-Sunni sectarian conflict that has left thousands of people dead since February when a revered Shi'ite mosque was bombed in the northern town of Samarra.
Americans "are concerned about the killing of the innocent on the streets of Baghdad", the ambassador said.
"This bloodshed sometimes causes some understandably to wonder if Iraqis can succeed. However, it is clear that Americans want Iraq to succeed."