US President George W. Bush said Thursday that coalition forces were making "really good progress" in Iraq but acknowledged they were still facing a stubborn insurgency run by "hard-nosed killers."
In a prime-time news conference, Bush also said Iraqi security forces were performing "much better" but again refused to speculate on a timetable for the withdrawal of US troops.
Bush's upbeat comments came two days after General Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, conceded that the insurgency was as strong as a year ago even if US forces were winning the war.
"I believe we are making good progress in Iraq because the Iraqi people are beginning to see the benefits of a free society," the president told reporters at the White House.
"Nevertheless, there are still some in Iraq who are not happy with democracy. They want to go back to the old days of tyranny and darkness, torture chambers and mass graves. ... They are hard-nosed killers."
The president reported headway in recruiting, equipping and organizing Iraqi forces to take over the fight against the insurgents two years after the US-led invasion to topple Saddam Hussein.
"The Iraqi military is being trained by our military, and they're performing much better than the past," Bush said.
"The more secure Iraq becomes, as a result of the hard work of Iraqi security forces, the more confident the people will have in the process and the more isolated the terrorist will become," Bush said.
But he would not be drawn into saying when he might be able to start pulling out US troops, whose number he said had been cut back from 160,000 deployed during the landmark Jan. 30 elections to 139,000.
"I don't think it is wise for me to set out a timetable. All that will do is cause an enemy to adjust. My answer is as soon as possible. And `as soon as possible' depends upon the Iraqis being able to fight and do the job."
The president also hailed the formation of a new interim government in Iraq after a protracted round of political horsetrading since the elections.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese
RIVER TRAGEDY: Local fishers and residents helped rescue people after the vessel capsized, while motorbike taxis evacuated some of the injured At least 58 people going to a funeral died after their overloaded river boat capsized in the Central African Republic’s (CAR) capital, Bangui, the head of civil protection said on Saturday. “We were able to extract 58 lifeless bodies,” Thomas Djimasse told Radio Guira. “We don’t know the total number of people who are underwater. According to witnesses and videos on social media, the wooden boat was carrying more than 300 people — some standing and others perched on wooden structures — when it sank on the Mpoko River on Friday. The vessel was heading to the funeral of a village chief in