In a somber, pre-election review of a long and brutal war, US President George W. Bush conceded yesterday that the US is taking heavy casualties and said, "I know many Americans are not satisfied with the situation in Iraq."
"I'm not satisfied either," he said at a speech and question and answer session at the White House 13 days before Nov. 7 elections in which Republican control of the House of Representatives and the Senate is at stake.
Bush declared that patience had its limits but said he would not put unbearable pressure on Iraq's leaders to end the bloodshed.
He said the US was determined to stay the course in Iraq but with adjusted tactics to confront a changing enemy.
"Americans have no intention of taking sides in a sectarian struggle or standing in the crossfire between rival factions," he said.
He said he would not leave US troops caught in the crossfire of sectarian violence and would bring them home tomorrow "if I did not think our mission in Iraq was vital to American security."
Bush, echoing comments in Baghdad on Tuesday by his top military and civilians officials in Iraq, said the Iraqi government had agreed to a "schedule" of political and security steps aimed at forging a united, stable democracy.
The US was pressing Iraqi leaders to take "bold steps" but "we are making it clear that American patience is not unlimited," Bush said.
Even so, he added, "We will not put more pressure on the Iraqi government than it can bear."
Bush also voiced qualified confidence in Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.
"We're with him as long as he continues to make tough decisions," Bush said.
Maliki had distanced himself yesterday from the US-announced "timeline" to end sectarian violence and criticized a raid on a Shiite militia stronghold yesterday aimed at a death squad leader.
"The Americans have the right to review their policies but we do not believe in a timetable and no one will impose one on us," Maliki, a Shiite, told a news conference in Baghdad.
He also contradicted a US military statement which said the Iraqi-US ground and air assault on the Sadr City district of Baghdad, in which four people were killed, had been authorized by his government.
"We will be seeking an explanation from the multinational forces to avoid a repetition of what happened without our cooperation in advance," Maliki said.
Bush said a timetable for a withdrawal of the 140,000 US troops in Iraq was different from such "benchmarks."
"This notion of a fixed timetable of withdrawal, in my judgment, means defeat. We can't leave until the job is done," Bush said.
He said Maliki was right that no outside power could force him into actions because Iraq was a sovereign country.
Maliki too insisted he was not working to any deadlines, though he did repeat that he would deal with sectarian militias responsible for much of the bloodletting.
The differences over the raid on Sadr City, a stronghold of the Mehdi Army militia of anti-US cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, illustrated the conflicting political pressures on Maliki and his US allies. Sadr is a powerful force behind Maliki, who has struggled to balance the competing demands of the Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds in his unity coalition.
The US military said Iraqi special forces backed by US air strikes conducted the raid "to capture a top illegal armed group commander directing widespread death squad activity." It was not clear whether the commander had been captured or killed in the assault.
Beijing’s continued provocations in the Taiwan Strait reveal its intention to unilaterally change the “status quo” in the area, the US Department of State said on Saturday, calling for a peaceful resolution to cross-strait issues. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) reported that four China Coast Guard patrol vessels entered restricted and prohibited waters near Kinmen County on Friday and again on Saturday. A State Department spokesperson said that Washington was aware of the incidents, and urged all parties to exercise restraint and refrain from unilaterally changing the “status quo.” “Maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is in line with our [the
EXTENDED RANGE: Hsiung Sheng missiles, 100 of which might be deployed by the end of the year, could reach Chinese command posts and airport runways, a source said A NT$16.9 billion (US$534.93 million) project to upgrade the military’s missile defense systems would be completed this year, allowing the deployment of at least 100 long-range Hsiung Sheng missiles and providing more deterrence against China, military sources said on Saturday. Hsiung Sheng missiles are an extended-range version of the Hsiung Feng IIE (HF-2E) surface-to-surface cruise missile, and are believed to have a range of up to 1,200km, which would allow them to hit targets well inside China. They went into mass production in 2022, the sources said. The project is part of a special budget for the Ministry of National Defense aimed at
READY TO WORK: Taiwan is eager to cooperate and is hopeful that like-minded states will continue to advocate for its inclusion in regional organizations, Lai said Maintaining the “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait, and peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region must be a top priority, president-elect William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday after meeting with a delegation of US academics. Leaders of the G7, US President Joe Biden and other international heads of state have voiced concerns about the situation in the Strait, as stability in the region is necessary for a safe, peaceful and prosperous world, Lai said. The vice president, who is to be inaugurated in May, welcomed the delegation and thanked them for their support for Taiwan and issues concerning the Strait. The international community
COOPERATION: Two crewmembers from a Chinese fishing boat that sank off Kinmen were rescued, two were found dead and another two were still missing at press time The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) was yesterday working with Chinese rescuers to find two missing crewmembers from a Chinese fishing boat that sank southwest of Kinmen County yesterday, killing two crew. The joint operation managed to rescue two of the boat’s six crewmembers, but two were already dead when they were pulled from the water, the agency said in a statement. Rescuers are still searching for two others from the Min Long Yu 61222, a boat registered in China’s Fujian Province that capsized and sank 1.03 nautical miles (1.9km) southwest of Dongding Island (東碇), it added. CGA Director-General Chou Mei-wu (周美伍) told a