President Bush says he will not bend to political
pressure for troop withdrawals from Iraq and says he told worried leaders in
Baghdad the United States will not leave until Iraqi forces can do the job.
President Bush greets military personnel and
embassy employees at the U.S. Embassy after he arrived in Baghdad for a
surprise visit to the city, June 13, 2006.
[Reuters] |
"I assured them they didn't need to worry," the president said Tuesday. "I am
going to do what I think is right. When I tell you these decisions are going to
be made by General (George) Casey, I mean it," the president said. Casey is the
top U.S. general in Iraq.
Bush has shied away from embracing suggestions from Casey and other military
leaders that the U.S. troop strength in Iraq -- now about 132,000 -- could be
whittled to 100,000 by the end of the year. The war has weakened Bush
politically and raised anxieties among Republicans that they will lose seats --
and perhaps control -- of either the House or Senate in November.
"There's a worry almost to a person that we will leave before they are
capable of defending themselves, and I assured them they didn't need to worry,"
the president said. "I also made it clear that we want to work with their
government on a way forward on all fronts."
"They're deeply concerned that the stability provided by our coalition forces
will be removed and there will be a vacuum and they're concerned about what goes
into the vacuum, and I can understand that concern," he added. "I assured them
that we'll keep our commitment. I also made it clear to them that in order for
us to keep our commitment, they themselves have to do some hard things, they
themselves have to set the agenda."
Slouched in a high-back swivel desk chair in his office on Air Force One,
Bush talked about his 5 1/2 hour visit to Baghdad about a half hour after his
departure. Security was extraordinary for the takeoff from Baghdad's airport.
Bush's plane sat in total darkness on the runway and lifted off with no running
lights. The plane had not been completely refueled so that it could get up high
faster. As a result, a refueling stop was required en route back to Washington.
Bush sat at his v-curved desk in a rumpled white shirt with no tie. Senior
aides stood along the wall or sat on a couch in front of him as he chatted with
reporters for 36 minutes.
Bush said it was unrealistic to expect that Iraq could rid itself of violence
-- the bombings, gunfire and suicide attacks that have become a part of daily
life in some cities.
"If the standard is no violence, that's an impossible standard to meet," the
president said. "If the standard is a government that is beginning to gain the
confidence of the people because they're taking wise action in terms of helping
return normalcy, then I believe this government will meet that standard."