Bush tells Americans not to give in to despair

George Bush

WASHINGTON - US President George W. Bush has made an unusually direct personal appeal to Americans not to give in to despair over Iraq, insisting "We are winning" despite a tougher-than-expected war.

Confronting American doubts about the war, Mr Bush said he realised the US death toll in Iraq had led some to ask whether "we are creating more problems than we are solving".

"I do not expect you to support everything I do," he said in remarkably personal terms.

"But tonight I have a request: Do not give in to despair, and do not give up on this fight for freedom."

Struggling with low approval ratings and wide public discontent, Mr Bush hopes Iraq's election will mark a turning point in support for his strategy, which is costing taxpayers US$6 billion ($8.8 billion) a month.

His rare Oval Office address was his fifth speech devoted to Iraq since November 30, part of a fierce White House offensive to confront criticism of the war and to try to keep Democratic calls for a phased troop pullout from gaining public support.

In his remarks, he decried the "defeatism" of his political rivals, saying steady gains were being made.

"My fellow citizens: Not only can we win the war in Iraq - we are winning the war in Iraq," he declared.

Mr Bush, in his series of speeches, has changed his tone from outright sunny optimism to a more realistic assessment of Iraq, admitting that mistakes were made in the run-up to the war and that the road ahead is long.

Along those lines, Mr Bush acknowledged the United States got off to a slow start in reconstruction efforts and in training Iraqi security forces.

"This work has been especially difficult in Iraq - more difficult than we expected."

He predicted "more testing and sacrifice before us", but said grim scenes of carnage on television proved only that the war was difficult. "It does not mean that we are losing."

Vice-President Dick Cheney had a far more typically upbeat message during a surprise visit to Iraq, saying in an ABC News Nightline interview he believed Iraqis overwhelmingly thought they were better off today than when Saddam Hussein ruled.

"I think the vast majority of them think of us as liberators," said Mr Cheney, pointing to polls showing many Iraqis were optimistic.

Mr Bush gave no ground to critics demanding a quick US troop withdrawal. He stuck to his position that troop reductions depended on progress in training Iraqi forces and on the democratic process.

Decisions on troop levels, he said, would depend on progress on the ground and advice from his commanders, "not based on artificial timetables set by politicians in Washington".

- REUTERS