WASHINGTON – President Bush conceded Friday that “right now it’s tough” for American forces in Iraq, but the White House said he would not change U.S. strategy in the face of pre-election polls that show voters are upset.
With Republicans anxious about the potential loss of Congress – and with conditions seemingly deteriorating in Iraq – Bush addressed the question of whether he would alter his policies.
“We are constantly adjusting our tactics so that we achieve the objective, and right now it’s tough, it’s tough,” Bush said.
Bush met with Gen. John Abizaid, the top U.S. commander in the Middle East, at the White House for a half-hour Friday afternoon. The White House said Abizaid already was in town and Bush asked him over. The president also will consult by video conference on Saturday with Abizaid at U.S. Central Command in Tampa, Fla., and with Gen. George Casey, who leads the U.S.-led Multinational Forces in Iraq, to determine if a change in tactics is necessary to combat the increasing violence.
Despite calls for change, Bush said, “Our goal has not changed. Our goal is a country that can defend, sustain and govern itself, a country that which will serve as an ally in this war. Our tactics are adjusting.”
There were fresh signs of Republican doubts about the war. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas, who holds a seat deemed safe for the GOP, said in a campaign debate Thursday she would have voted against the war had she known ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein possessed no weapons of mass destruction.
Bush, at a political fundraiser in Washington for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, railed against Democrats who criticize the war. Calling the Democrats the party of “cut and run,” Bush said voters need to ask: “Which political party has a strategy for victory in this war on terror?’ “
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said the Iraqi government must become less reliant on the United States to handle security. He also said U.S. officials are working with the Iraqis to develop projections on when that might happen.
“It’s their country, they’re going to have to govern it, they’re going to have to provide security for it, and they’re going to have to do it sooner rather than later,” Rumsfeld said.
“The biggest mistake would be to not pass things over to the Iraqis, create a dependency on their part, instead of developing strength and capacity and competence,” he said.
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