Bush acknowledges war's strain on US
Vows troops won't withdraw from Iraq during his term
WASHINGTON -- President Bush, acknowledging that the war in Iraq is ``straining" the national psyche, nonetheless vowed that US forces would remain there ``so long as I am president" and warned that pulling out early would have disastrous consequences for other critical US foreign policy goals.
``We're not leaving so long as I am president," Bush said at an hourlong White House press conference yesterday. ``That would be a huge mistake. It would send an unbelievably . . . terrible signal to reformers across the region. It would say we've abandoned our desire to change the conditions that create terror. It would give the terrorists a safe haven from which to launch attacks. It would embolden Iran. It would embolden extremists."
The president also interjected himself into the upcoming congressional elections, urging voters to reject the Democrats' calls to withdraw troops before Iraq is stabilized.
``There are a lot of good, decent people saying: `Get out now. Vote for me. I will do everything I can to . . . get our troops out,' " Bush said, referring to some Democratic Party leaders and congressional candidates. ``It's a big mistake."
Meanwhile, the Democrats have made the war a central campaign issue, arguing Bush's ``stay the course" strategy is a disaster. And some political observers said Bush's election-year strategy of linking Iraq with other foreign policy challenges could backfire: Voters have become disenchanted with the ongoing war, and have openly questioned whether the US-led invasion in 2003 has made America safer.
A new CNN public opinion poll released yesterday found that just 35 percent of Americans surveyed supported the war, the lowest level since the war began. Sixty-one percent of respondents said they believed the war was a mistake.
``The Republicans are planning to make national security their issue, as they have before, and they are very brazen in how they do it," said Julian Zelizer , a professor of history at Boston University who is writing a book on national security and politics. ``Republicans want to link Iraq to homeland security -- that is the core issue," he said. ``Democrats want to separate the issues and argue Iraq is not a part of the homeland security strategy."
White House aides said yesterday's press conference was the beginning of a more aggressive plan to help Republicans convince the public that, despite setbacks in Iraq, Democrats don't understand that success in Iraq is critical to the broader war against terrorism.
Bush's news conference focused primarily on a series of crises in the Middle East. Bush acknowledged he was concerned about the prospects of civil war in Iraq and was ``frustrated" by the grim headlines of ongoing sectarian violence, attacks against US troops, and scores of civilian casualties. He also urged ``international commitment" to summon 15,000 United Nations peacekeepers to enforce the fragile cease-fire between Israel and Iranian-backed Hezbollah guerrillas in southern Lebanon. On Iran, Bush said he hoped the UN Security Council would swiftly levy sanctions if Tehran fails to meet an Aug. 31 deadline to halt its enrichment of uranium, which could be used for nuclear weapons.
``The terrorists and their sponsors, Iran and Syria, have a much darker vision," Bush said. ``They're working to thwart the efforts of the Lebanese people to break free from foreign domination and build their own democratic future."
Bush said hopes for stability and democracy in the region are directly linked to completing the mission in Iraq.
He said he understands public concerns about the ongoing insurgent attacks and the numbing civilian death toll, which in July reached a record monthly high of 3,500.
``Nobody likes to see innocent people die. Nobody wants to turn on their TV on a daily basis and see the havoc wrought by terrorists," Bush said. ``Our question is, do we have the capacity and the desire to spread peace by confronting these terrorists and supporting those who want to live in liberty?"
Though the war is ``straining the psyche of our country," Bush said the fight is vital to security at home and antiwar Democrats aren't seeing the big picture. ``What matters is that in this [midterm election] campaign that we clarify the different points of view. There are a lot of people in the Democratic Party who believe that the best course of action is to leave Iraq before the job is done, and they're wrong."
However, Senator John F. Kerry of Massachusetts, who challenged Bush in the 2004 election, said the president can't seem to acknowledge that he is ``profoundly wrong" about his approach to Iraq. He accused Bush of playing politics with public anxieties about terrorism.
``The American psyche isn't the problem," Kerry said in a statement. ``The problem is this administration's disastrous Iraq policy."
Still, Zelizer said, the Democrats' challenge will be to convince voters that Iraq has made the nation less safe.
Brian Bender can be reached at bender@globe.com. 