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Bush demands critics offer alternative plan on Iraq
AFP
WASHINGTON
Petroleumworld.com 01 15 07US President George W. Bush on Saturday warned opposition Democrats against cutting funds for the Iraq war, and challenged those who oppose his new plan to put an alternative on the table.
"Those who refuse to give this plan a chance to work have an obligation to offer an alternative that has a better chance for success. To oppose everything while proposing nothing is irresponsible," he said in his weekly radio address.
Bush also downplayed hostility to his blueprint among Democrats who now control the US Congress and his Republican allies, as some opponents of the US presence in Iraq have threatened to try to withhold spending.
He called his new plan "an important mission that will in large part determine the outcome in Iraq" and warned that "our brave troops should not have to wonder if their leaders in Washington will give them what they need."
"Whatever our differences on strategy and tactics, we all have a duty to ensure that our troops have what they need to succeed," the president said.
Polls show Americans overwhelmingly oppose the plan to send more troops and Bush's aides faced tough questions from lawmakers in Congress.
"We recognize that many members of Congress are skeptical. Some say our approach is really just more troops for the same strategy. In fact, we have a new
strategy with a new mission: helping secure the population, especially in Baghdad.
Our plan puts Iraqis in the lead," said the president.
"Only the Iraqis can end the sectarian violence and secure their people. Their leaders understand this, and they are stepping forward to do it. But they need our help, and it is in our interests to provide that help," he said.
Bush said that his new strategy fixed flaws that doomed previous efforts to pacify Baghdad by deploying some 21,500 US troops and giving them a freer hand to quell sectarian violence.
In an interview with a US television network, Bush acknowledged his administration's policies had increased instability in Iraq, according to excerpts from the CBS program "60 Minutes."
"Well, no question, decisions have made things unstable," Bush said.
"I think history is going to look back and see a lot of ways we could have done things better. No question about it," Bush said in the interview due to be broadcast on Sunday.
But Bush defended his decision to invade Iraq, saying: "Envision a world in which Saddam Hussein was rushing for a nuclear weapon to compete against Iran."
Bush also told CBS the execution of Saddam Hussein was handled badly.
"I thought it was discouraging. It's important that that chapter of Iraqi history be closed," he said.
"They could have handled it a lot better."
In his radio address, the president said that the United States would hold Iraq's government to its promises of taking over the country's security by November, sharing oil revenues fairly, and spending 10 billion dollars on jobs and reconstruction projects.
"These are strong commitments. And the Iraqi government knows that it must meet them, or lose the support of the Iraqi and the American people," he said.
But US Senator Hillary Clinton said Saturday during a visit to Iraq that she doubted the United States or the Iraqi government could restore security.
"I don't know that the American people or the Congress at this point believe this mission can work," she told ABC news.
"And in the absence of a commitment that is backed up by actions from the Iraqi government, why should we believe it?"
"This is heartbreaking," she said.
AFP 14 0042 GMT 01 07
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