U.S. President George W. Bush lights a candle while participating in a Hanukkah reception and lighting of the Menorah in the Bookseller's Area of the White House in Washington, on Tuesday. - REUTERS
WASHINGTON, U.S.A. (Reuters):
PRESIDENT GEORGE W. Bush yesterday touted progress in Iraqi cities Najaf and Mosul but complained corruption and militias are weighing down Iraq's new democracy as he tried to counter American unease with his war strategy.
In a speech looking ahead to December 15 elections in Iraq, Bush vowed to not be swayed by those critics arguing for a timetable for withdrawing United States troops from Iraq, saying to do so would be a victory for Iraq's al Qaeda leader Ab Musab al-Zarqawi and top al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.
"We are not going to yield the future of Iraq to men like Zarqawi and we are not going to yield the future of the Middle East to men like bin Laden. We will complete our mission in Iraq and leave behind a democracy that can govern itself, sustain itself, and defend itself," Bush said.
The White House has taken the offensive against critics who say the administration does not have a clear strategy for winning in Iraq and that there should be a plan for pulling out the roughly 155,000 U.S. troops there. More than 2,100 U.S. military personnel have been killed since the March 2003 U.S.-led invasion.
"Rather than continuing with a media blitz that tries to repackage a 'stay the course' strategy that isn't working, the president and his administration should give the public a plan, with a timetable, to complete the military mission in Iraq," said Wisconsin Democratic Sen. Russ Feingold.
In a speech to the Council on Foreign Relations, Bush cited Mosul and Najaf as examples of cities where reconstruction efforts are progressing.
"Over the course of this war we have learned that winning the battle for Iraqi cities is only the first step. We also have to win the battle after the battle, by helping Iraqis consolidate their gains and keep the terrorists from returning," Bush said.
Construction jobs are putting local residents back to work in Najaf, the hospital is open and elected officials are in charge of the city's government, Bush said.
But he said problems remain, such as electrical outages, a shortage of clean water and the persistence of kidnappings.
In Mosul, he said, local Iraqi leaders have upgraded key roads and bridges over the Tigris River, rebuilt schools and hospitals, improved the city's water and sewage network, and begun refurbishing the airport.
But he said Mosul still is not receiving enough electricity and militant intimidation is still a concern.
The northern city of Mosul, with over one million people, is the third largest city in Iraq, and is divided between Sunni Arabs and Kurds.
Although some areas including Najaf, south of Baghdad and the holiest city for the country's majority Shi'ite Muslims, show signs of the hundreds of millions of dollars in investment that has gone into Iraq, projects in many areas have been continually dogged by the conflict.
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Broadly, Bush complained that corruption is a problem at both the local and national levels of the Iraqi government and said "we will not tolerate fraud." He added that the U.S. embassy in Baghdad is demanding openness and accountability for the billions being spent on reconstruction.
He also cited as a problem the infiltration of militant groups into some Iraqi security forces, particularly the Iraqi police, and said that "former militia members must shift their loyalty to the national government and learn to operate under the rule of law."
Bush, whose public approval ratings have hit the lowest of his presidency, is scrambling to regain American support for the Iraq mission amid doubts about the war.
Democrats say the president needs to produce a clearer plan on Iraq. Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada, Sen. Carl Levin of Michigan and Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island wrote Bush a letter on Tuesday expressing their concerns.
"Only by outlining for the American people a full and complete strategy for success with the political, economic and military benchmarks by which to measure the progress and fully and publicly briefing the Congress about this strategy will the troops, their families and the American people truly benefit," the letter said.
