|
WASHINGTON: President George W. Bush warned against pulling the plug
on his Iraq strategy and assured the US public—now more worried
about the their economy than the war—that help was on the way.
With barely 12 months before his term ends, and
less before the race to the November elections all but sidelines
him, Bush also vowed to “confront” Iran where necessary and do
“everything we can” to reach a Middle East peace deal.
Bush used his final annual State of the Union
address on Tuesday (Monday in Washington) to defend his deeply
unpopular handling of what US voters say are their top two concerns:
the nearly five-year-old Iraq war and economic turmoil.
Leading Democratic presidential hopefuls
Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama were in the audience—and
already eager to talk about the next presidential inauguration, in
January 2009.
The Democrats roundly criticized Bush on the
leading issues in his speech. (See related story page B4.)
“We need a President who understands the
urgent economic challenges our families face and who will work as
hard for middleclass families as they work for America. I intend to
be that President,” Clinton said.
Obama said, “The only way we’re finally
going to pressure the Iraqis to reconcile and take responsibility
for their future is to immediately begin the responsible withdrawal
of our combat brigades.”
In a statement, he described the speech as
“full of the same empty rhetoric the American people have come to
expect from this President.”
Bush appealed for patience from Americans.
“In the long run, [Americans] can be confident
about our economic growth, but in the short run, we can all see that
that growth is slowing,” he said.
Bush urged lawmakers to speed approval of a
$150-billion stimulus package he agreed to last week with
congressional leaders.
On Iraq, Bush defended his decision one year ago
to “surge” 30,000 more troops into the war-torn country and
warned that a hasty troop withdrawal would leave the fragile
political and security progress there in ruins.
“Having come so far and achieved so much, we
must not allow this to happen,” he said, adding that US forces
were starting to come home and that more would do so in 2008 as
their role there changes.
“Our objective in the coming year is to
sustain and build on the gains we made in 2007, while transitioning
to the next phase of our strategy. American troops are shifting from
leading operations, to partnering with Iraqi forces, and,
eventually, to a protective overwatch mission,” Bush said.
He cautioned that “we can still expect tough
fighting ahead.”
A senior aide said a progress report in March or
April would shape any drawdown decision beyond plans to bring some
20,000 soldiers home by July.
Bush had promised that the crackdown would quiet
sectarian violence that he blamed for thwarting Iraqi national
reconciliation and that Iraqi security forces would be in charge of
the entire country by November.
But 2007 proved the deadliest year for US troops
since the 2003 invasion, major political progress has been elusive,
and Iraqi officials have suggested that it may not be until 2012
that they can assume full control of security.
The President did not unveil any bold new
proposals, instead frequently invoked “the past seven years” in
a speech that, at times, sounded as if he were polishing his legacy
in anticipation of writing his own political obituary.
Democrats hope that deep dissatisfaction with
Bush’s record on both fronts will help them retain control of
Congress and recapture the White House. Some of his Republicans
worry he could be a liability.
A January 20 to 22 survey by The Wall Street
Journal found that 64 percent of Americans disapprove of Bush’s
handling of the economy, and 67 percent disapprove of his handling
of Iraq—two issues that will shape the race to succeed him.
Bush, who used the annual speech in 2003 to lump
Saddam Hussein’s Iraq with Iran and North Korea in an “axis of
evil,” urged Tehran to freeze uranium enrichment that Washington
fears is a prelude to a nuclear arsenal and to stop backing
extremists abroad.
“America will confront those who threaten our
troops. We will stand by our allies, and we will defend our vital
interests in the Persian Gulf,” he warned.
-- AFP
|
