Bush asserts troops must stay in Iraq
Says US can fight war, offer hurricane relief
WASHINGTON -- As thousands of antiwar protesters arrived for a rally this weekend in the nation's capital, President Bush yesterday asserted that the immediate withdrawal of American troops from Iraq would make the world more dangerous and ''allow the terrorists to claim a historic victory over the United States."
Speaking at the Pentagon and flanked by Vice President Dick Cheney and his top national security team, Bush also sought to reassure the public that the federal government is up to the tasks of rebuilding after Hurricane Katrina, handling Hurricane Rita and its aftermath, and fully prosecuting the war in Iraq while fighting international terrorism.
But Bush answered new concerns of fiscal conservatives in his own party by pledging to work with Congress to find cuts in government programs to help pay for the staggering costs of rebuilding the battered Gulf Coast and securing Iraq. Analysts calculate that the combined costs of Katrina relief and Gulf rebuilding and the military operations in Iraq have already surpassed half a trillion dollars.
In recent days, Bush's Republican allies on Capitol Hill have been agitating for reductions in so-called discretionary programs to guard against inflation and the ballooning federal budget. A group of Republican senators yesterday followed the lead of their counterparts in the House in calling for major spending cuts.
Among the proposals: delaying the planned prescription drug benefit for Medicare recipients and scaling back federal funding for longtime GOP targets like the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Amtrak. Some lawmakers also want to slash federal spending on new highways, bridges, and other pet projects.
Still, the president's Pentagon visit was clearly designed to dampen the potential impact of the antiwar rally this weekend on the National Mall in Washington. Liberal groups and leading peace activists say they expect hundreds of thousands of people will come to protest the US military presence in Iraq and demand that Bush bring the troops home now.
''Listen, there are differences of opinion about the way forward," Bush said. ''I understand that. Some Americans want us to withdraw our troops so that we can escape the violence. I recognize their good intentions, but their position is wrong. Withdrawing our troops would make the world more dangerous and make America less safe."
Bush said pulling out before the Iraqi government is fully prepared to battle insurgents who killed 10 more civilians in a series of attacks yesterday would ''repeat the costly mistakes" of when the United States withdrew troops after deadly terrorist attacks in Iran and Lebanon and when jubilant crowds tore apart a downed military helicopter in Somalia.
''The terrorists saw our response to the hostage crisis in Iran, the bombings of the Marine barracks in Lebanon, the first World Trade Center attack, the killing of American soldiers in Somalia, the destruction of two US embassies in Africa, and the attack on the USS Cole," Bush said. ''The terrorists concluded that we lacked the courage and character to defend ourselves, and so they attacked us."
Citing briefings he received from his top commanders yesterday, Bush said the military is making progress against the insurgency in Iraq and in establishing a politically viable state. Newly trained Iraqi forces are taking the lead in many security operations, the president said, including a recent offensive in the insurgent stronghold of Tal Afar along the Syrian border -- a key transit point for foreign fighters and supplies.
''Iraqi forces are showing the vital difference they can make," Bush said. ''They are now in control of more parts of Iraq than at any time in the past two years. Significant areas of Baghdad and Mosul, once violent and volatile, are now more stable because Iraqi forces are helping to keep the peace."
In addition to critics of the war, Bush is also under renewed pressure from fiscal conservatives in his own party who worry that the mounting costs of the two hurricanes, combined with the ongoing war, will bankrupt the Treasury.
''Simply put, we cannot allow deficit spending to suddenly renew itself and start to grow out of control," said Senator John Sununu, a New Hampshire Republican.
Bender can be reached at bender@globe.com. 