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Violence a "defining moment" for Iraq: Bush
WASHINGTON
Petroleumworld.com, Mar 31, 2008
President George W. Bush Friday said Iraq's crackdown on Shiite militias marked a "defining moment" in the country's history and was a key test for Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's government.
The president also said after talks with new Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd that success in Iraq would send a clear signal to US foe Iran that its leaders could not "have their way" with other nations in the Middle East.
Bush spoke as US-led coalition jets bombed Shiite militia positions in the southern Iraqi city of Basra and fresh clashes broke out in Baghdad's Sadr City and Kadhimiyah, strongholds of radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army.
"I would say this is a defining moment in the history of a free Iraq," Bush said, welcoming Rudd to the White House for the first time since his election in November.
"This is a test and a moment for the Iraqi government which strongly has supported Prime Minister Maliki's actions," Bush said.
"It is an interesting moment for the people of Iraq because in order for this democracy to survive they must have confidence in their government's ability to protect them and to be even-handed."The president also said the United States would maintain "enough of a presence" in Iraq to ensure success there, as anticipation mounts ahead of his latest review of Iraq policy, and the size of the US commitment.
" It's still a dangerous, fragile situation," Bush said, adding he would base a decision on whether to make further US troop reductions in Iraq on the recommendations of Defense Secretary Robert Gates, as well as the US commander of forces in Iraq, General David Petraeus.
" All aiming to make sure that we have enough of a presence to make sure that we're successful in Iraq," Bush added.
" I am confident we can succeed unless we lose our nerve, unless we allow politics to get in the way of making the necessary decisions," Bush said.
Bush also said that a positive outcome in Iraq would be an important signal to US foe Iran, which Washington accuses, along with Syria, of backing violence and terrorism in Iraq.
" We want to send a clear message to Iran that they're not going to be able to have their way with nations in the Middle East," Bush said.
He skipped over one point of potential embarrassment for him and his guest: Rudd's pledge to bring home 550 Australian soldiers from southern Iraq in his campaign against former premier John Howard, a man Bush considered a friend and close ally.
" Obviously, the prime minister kept a campaign commitment which I appreciate," Bush said.
" I always like to be in the presence of somebody who does what he says he's going to do. And, oftentimes, politicians go out there and they say one thing on the campaign trail and they don't mean it. Well, this is a guy who meant it."
Australia will retain about 1,000 military personnel in and around Iraq, including a 110-strong security detachment in Baghdad and personnel for aircraft and a warship based outside Iraq.
Renewed violence in Iraq has killed nearly 180 people since Tuesday, according to an AFP toll, mainly in Basra, Sadr City in Baghdad, the central cities of Hilla and Kut and the southern city of Nasiriyah and its outskirts.
For the first time US-led coalition forces entered the fray since the Iraqi army launched the operation against Shiite fighters in Basra by bombing militia's positions in the city overnight Friday, a British military spokesman said.
" Coalition forces are providing capability in those niche areas that the Iraqi armed forces don't have," Major Tom Holloway told AFP.
The upsurge in violence came at a sensitive political moment in Washington, as Petraeus and US ambassador to Baghdad Ryan Crocker are due to deliver their latest eagerly awaited report on the US troop "surge" in Iraq to Congress in early April.
US Admiral William Fallon was meanwhile replaced Friday as head of US military operations in the Middle East and Central Asia.
Fallon quit after reports suggested he was opposed President George W. Bush's policy towards Iran, something he has denied.
The number two commander overseeing the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, US Army Lieutenant General Martin Dempsey, temporarily took charge of US Central Command in a ceremony at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida.
Story by Laurent Lozano from AFP
AFP 28 2129 GMT 03 08
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