US President George W. Bush said on Saturday his goal of reducing troop numbers in Iraq by July was on track.
He made his comments after meeting his top political and military commanders in Iraq at a US base in Kuwait, where he also addressed hundreds of the American troops stationed in the oil-rich emirate.
After talks with General David Petraeus, the commander of US forces in Iraq, and US ambassador Ryan Crocker, Bush told reporters Washington was on track to reduce the number of brigades to 15 from the current 20.
"The levels of violence are significantly reduced. Hope is returning to Baghdad and hope is returning to the towns and the villages throughout Iraq," he said.
"One Army brigade and one Marine Expeditionary Unit have already come home, and they will not be replaced. In the coming months, four additional brigades and two Marine battalions will follow suit."
Bush also voiced strong belief that the US would defeat terrorism saying he "has no doubt in my mind that we will succeed." Bush, addressing a crowd of American forces from the US Third Army in Arifjan base in southern Kuwait, said the best way to defeat the ideologies based on hatred was through ideologies based on liberty.
The US Army troops fighting "in a cause for the sake of peace, they are facing cold-blooded murderers who want to achieve their hateful vision, but history will show that ideologies based on liberty is necessary for peace," Bush said.
He said the US was facing an enemy overseas and was determined to defeat it in order to prevent facing it at home.
"It is hard work that should be done ... but necessary work," said Bush.
Bush's comments came only day after he conceded that US forces could stay for a decade in Iraq, which is still gripped by bombings almost five years on from the US-led invasion despite last year's troop "surge."
Asked in an interview with NBC television whether the US military presence might last 10 years, Bush said: "It could easily be that, absolutely."
A surprise visit to Iraq by the US president has not been ruled out during his tour of the region, which is aimed at promoting Middle East peace and seeking support from his efforts to contain what he calls the Iranian "threat."
US commanders have repeatedly accused Iran of helping Shiite militias in Iraq and said Syria was not doing enough to stop militants crossing the border to fight against American troops.
Bush spoke to a crowd of about 1,500 US troops at Camp Arifjan, one of Washington's largest military bases in the region and one of several in Kuwait, which served as a springboard for the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq.
"You are doing the hard work necessary to protect the United States of America because you have defeated an enemy overseas so we don't have to meet them at home," Bush said.
He described the fight against terrorism as an "ideological struggle," adding: "History will show that the best way to defeat the ideology of hate is with an ideology of hope."
The US president has been to Iraq three times since the invasion, most recently in September last year, but his strategy in the war-ravaged country is increasingly unpopular at home.
He is in Kuwait on a four-nation Gulf trip aimed in party to rally the support of Sunni Arab allies in his campaign to isolate Shiite Iran and to win backing for his goal to strike a Middle East peace deal by the time he leaves office in January 2009.
At the start of his tour in Israel on Wednesday, Bush warned that Iran posed "a threat to world peace" and should not be allowed to develop the know-how to build a nuclear weapon. Iran denies seeking nuclear arms.
But Gulf States are wary about any military action against their neighbour and Kuwaiti officials have said the emirate will not allow the United States to use its territory as a launchpad for any strike on Iran.
Tensions between Tehran and Washington escalated on the eve of Bush's tour over a naval confrontation in the strategic Strait of Hormuz last Sunday in which the Pentagon said US warships were threatened by Iranian speedboats.
The Pentagon has since said that Iranian speedboats approached US naval vessels in two other incidents in December, including one in which a US warship fired warning shots.
Tehran has accused Washington of using the incident in the waterway -- a vital conduit for energy supplies -- as a propaganda stunt to paint Iran in a bad light during Bush's trip.
After Kuwait, Bush heads on Friday to Bahrain -- which hosts the US Navy's Fifth Fleet -- then on to the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia before wrapping up his tour in Egypt.
He arrived in Kuwait after making his first presidential trip to Israel and the West Bank, where he said he believed a peace treaty would be signed within a year and called on Arab nations to reach out to Israel.
He made his comments after meeting his top political and military commanders in Iraq at a US base in Kuwait, where he also addressed hundreds of the American troops stationed in the oil-rich emirate.
After talks with General David Petraeus, the commander of US forces in Iraq, and US ambassador Ryan Crocker, Bush told reporters Washington was on track to reduce the number of brigades to 15 from the current 20.
"The levels of violence are significantly reduced. Hope is returning to Baghdad and hope is returning to the towns and the villages throughout Iraq," he said.
"One Army brigade and one Marine Expeditionary Unit have already come home, and they will not be replaced. In the coming months, four additional brigades and two Marine battalions will follow suit."
Bush also voiced strong belief that the US would defeat terrorism saying he "has no doubt in my mind that we will succeed." Bush, addressing a crowd of American forces from the US Third Army in Arifjan base in southern Kuwait, said the best way to defeat the ideologies based on hatred was through ideologies based on liberty.
The US Army troops fighting "in a cause for the sake of peace, they are facing cold-blooded murderers who want to achieve their hateful vision, but history will show that ideologies based on liberty is necessary for peace," Bush said.
He said the US was facing an enemy overseas and was determined to defeat it in order to prevent facing it at home.
"It is hard work that should be done ... but necessary work," said Bush.
Bush's comments came only day after he conceded that US forces could stay for a decade in Iraq, which is still gripped by bombings almost five years on from the US-led invasion despite last year's troop "surge."
Asked in an interview with NBC television whether the US military presence might last 10 years, Bush said: "It could easily be that, absolutely."
A surprise visit to Iraq by the US president has not been ruled out during his tour of the region, which is aimed at promoting Middle East peace and seeking support from his efforts to contain what he calls the Iranian "threat."
US commanders have repeatedly accused Iran of helping Shiite militias in Iraq and said Syria was not doing enough to stop militants crossing the border to fight against American troops.
Bush spoke to a crowd of about 1,500 US troops at Camp Arifjan, one of Washington's largest military bases in the region and one of several in Kuwait, which served as a springboard for the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq.
"You are doing the hard work necessary to protect the United States of America because you have defeated an enemy overseas so we don't have to meet them at home," Bush said.
He described the fight against terrorism as an "ideological struggle," adding: "History will show that the best way to defeat the ideology of hate is with an ideology of hope."
The US president has been to Iraq three times since the invasion, most recently in September last year, but his strategy in the war-ravaged country is increasingly unpopular at home.
He is in Kuwait on a four-nation Gulf trip aimed in party to rally the support of Sunni Arab allies in his campaign to isolate Shiite Iran and to win backing for his goal to strike a Middle East peace deal by the time he leaves office in January 2009.
At the start of his tour in Israel on Wednesday, Bush warned that Iran posed "a threat to world peace" and should not be allowed to develop the know-how to build a nuclear weapon. Iran denies seeking nuclear arms.
But Gulf States are wary about any military action against their neighbour and Kuwaiti officials have said the emirate will not allow the United States to use its territory as a launchpad for any strike on Iran.
Tensions between Tehran and Washington escalated on the eve of Bush's tour over a naval confrontation in the strategic Strait of Hormuz last Sunday in which the Pentagon said US warships were threatened by Iranian speedboats.
The Pentagon has since said that Iranian speedboats approached US naval vessels in two other incidents in December, including one in which a US warship fired warning shots.
Tehran has accused Washington of using the incident in the waterway -- a vital conduit for energy supplies -- as a propaganda stunt to paint Iran in a bad light during Bush's trip.
After Kuwait, Bush heads on Friday to Bahrain -- which hosts the US Navy's Fifth Fleet -- then on to the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia before wrapping up his tour in Egypt.
He arrived in Kuwait after making his first presidential trip to Israel and the West Bank, where he said he believed a peace treaty would be signed within a year and called on Arab nations to reach out to Israel.
2 comments:
First off I am glad Kuwaitt will not let the US use it bases to launch missles against Iran, that is a nice way of saying the Gerbil Administration is out of line.
"The levels of violence are significantly reduced. Hope is returning to Baghdad and hope is returning to the towns and the villages throughout Iraq," he said.
obviously his handlers are not feeding him real news or he is just plain drunk
The man is a true idiot and his comments show he's an idiot.
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