San Diego Union Tribune December 19, 2005 Bush senses victory in Iraq Speech urges Americans not to support 'defeatists' By George E. Condon Jr. COPLEY NEWS SERVICE WASHINGTON – President Bush reached out last night to the critics of his war policies, insisting that the insurgents have a "tightening noose" around their necks and that U.S. forces in Iraq "are on the road to victory." "Not only can we win the war in Iraq, we are winning the war in Iraq," he declared in a 16-minute nationally televised address from the Oval Office. He implored Americans not to listen to the "defeatists who refuse to see that anything is right." The president's remarks came on a day when Vice President Dick Cheney took a surprise trip to Baghdad to declare that "we've turned the corner" in the war. Bush's speech also came amid a growing clamor over his decision to conduct domestic wiretaps without first getting judicial approval. But the president, who on Saturday defended his actions on the wiretaps, made no mention of the controversy roiling the nation's capital. This was the fifth major speech by Bush on Iraq over the past two weeks. The series was launched after the White House realized public support for the president's war policies was slipping and that, increasingly, Congress was asking tough questions about his stewardship of the war. The stakes for the speech were high, as reflected by the White House's request for time on the national networks. The president has rarely used the Oval Office for speeches, and this was his first since the March 2003 address when he announced the start of the U.S.-led invasion. In the time between the addresses, 2,156 U.S. troops died and public support for the war dropped from almost 80 percent to below 50 percent. The president addressed that public discontent, saying, "I know many Americans have questions about the cost and direction of this war." ASHLEY GILBERTSON / New York Times News Service During last night's speech, President Bush pointed to last week's parliamentary elections in Iraq as evidence that the United States is winning the war. A security contractor in Mosul, Iraq, carried ballots aboard a plane headed for Baghdad yesterday. He even directed part of his speech at "those of you who did not support my decision to send troops to Iraq." To them, he said, "I have heard your disagreement, and I know how deeply it is felt." But he quickly added, "Yet now there are only two options before our country – victory or defeat. And the need for victory is larger than any president or political party." He drew a sharp distinction between what he called "honest" questions and partisan sniping. "There is a difference between honest critics who recognize what is wrong, and defeatists who refuse to see that anything is right," he said. "Defeatism may have its partisan uses, but it is not justified by the facts." Some, he said, "look at the challenges in Iraq and conclude that the war is lost, and not worth another dime or another day." He rejected that conclusion. "Our military commanders do not believe that. Our troops in the field . . . do not believe that America has lost. And not even the terrorists believe it," he said. "We know from their own communications that they feel a tightening noose and fear the rise of a democratic Iraq." Speaking days after what appears to have been a successful election in Iraq, he said the goal of a democratic Iraq is on track to be realized. "This election will not mean the end of violence. But it is the beginning of something new: constitutional democracy at the heart of the Middle East," he said. He predicted "more testing and sacrifice" and more U.S. deaths before he can withdraw U.S. forces. Last night, as in all of his recent speeches, Bush cast himself as a leader determined to keep U.S. troops in Iraq as long as it takes to secure a clear victory. Less clear was the definition of victory – either a definitive defeat of the insurgents or a strengthening of Iraqi forces to the point where they can take over for the Americans in battling the insurgents. Hoping to reshape the debate, which Republicans believed was starting to be waged on the terms of the opponents, the president stabilized his support and enjoyed a recent boost in the polls before the recent disclosure of the domestic spying program. But the White House wanted the exposure that only comes with an Oval Office address. Bush said the war "has been more difficult than we expected." And he braced Americans for more bad news and more roadside bombings by the insurgents. "You will continue to see the grim results on the evening news," he said. "This proves that the war is difficult. It does not mean that we are losing. Behind the images of chaos that terrorists create for the cameras, we are making steady gains with a clear objective in view." He again rejected calls in Congress for a timetable for withdrawal of U.S. forces, imploring Americans to understand "the consequences of pulling out of Iraq before our work is done." He called this a "retreat" that would be an "act of recklessness and dishonor" and said he will not permit it. "We would abandon our Iraqi friends – and signal to the world that America cannot be trusted to keep its word. We would undermine the morale of our troops by betraying the cause for which they have sacrificed," he said. "We would cause tyrants in the Middle East to laugh at our failed resolve, and tighten their repressive grip. We would hand Iraq over to enemies who have pledged to attack us – and the global terrorist movement would be emboldened and more dangerous than ever before." Earlier in the day, one of the war's harshest critics, Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., said, "We don't know what the plan is." And a recent poll indicated that 58 percent of Americans don't believe Bush has a plan for victory. But the president stressed he has a plan to "defeat the terrorists by capturing and killing them abroad" so that they cannot strike inside the United States. "Our forces in Iraq are on the road to victory, and that is the road that will take them home," he said. »Next Story»