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Bush stands firm on policy toward Iraq

US President George W. Bush insisted the Iraq war could still be won and dismissed mounting calls for a change in strategy as US lawmakers voted again for troop withdrawals.

Bush struck a defiant tone on Thursday, insisting on his authority to run the war despite a report from his administration showing the Iraqi government was making only paltry progress and growing anxiety over the war from fellow Republicans.

"I believe we can succeed in Iraq, and I know we must," Bush said at a news conference dominated by the unpopular war, which has now killed 3,612 US troops.

Bush frequently invoked al-Qaeda, warning the withdrawal of 160,000 US troops in the country would mean "surrendering the future of Iraq to al-Qaeda."

The House of Representatives answered Bush with a vote to withdraw most combat troops by April, as Democratic leaders blasted his handling of the war.

The House voted by 223 votes to 201 to pass the measure, but the Republican coalition stayed intact -- only four party members voted with the Democrats.

The troop withdrawal deadlines have almost no chance of becoming law as the Democrats are well short of the two-thirds majority needed to override a Bush veto.

But the Democrats see votes for troop withdrawals as a way of keeping up pressure on the president and his Republican allies.

"The president hasn't seen the last of these votes," said Jim Manley, spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

"We'll look forward to additional votes in September," he said.

Bush reiterated that he is not ready to consider any change of course in Iraq until the commander of US forces in Iraq, General David Petraeus, issues his assessment of the US troop "surge" strategy in September.

Bush accused his Democratic foes of trying to encroach his legal authority as commander-in-chief.

"I don't think Congress ought to be running the war," he said.

Bush also pledged to launch another bout of diplomacy on Iraq, by sending US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates to the Middle East next month to consult US allies on the conflict.

Both had postponed foreign trips to launch an intense lobbying effort of wavering lawmakers, after several key Republican senators broke with Bush in recent weeks.

The political combat came as the White House issued to Congress a much-anticipated interim report on Bush's strategy to deploy extra troops.

The report found satisfactory progress by the Baghdad government on only eight of 18 security and political benchmarks set by Congress. Both sides cited the report as proof for their entrenched positions, with Bush saying he still had "confidence" in Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.

The report revealed efforts by Iraq to get its armed forces operating independently of US units -- a key goal of the US administration -- had made "unsatisfactory progress."

Iraq had made "unsatisfactory" progress on legislation explicitly endorsed by Washington as central to efforts to quiet sectarian violence, the report said.

There was more optimism on the situation in some regions, like Anbar Province, echoing recent US statements that local tribal leaders had turned sharply against al-Qaeda.

The report said "satisfactory" progress had been made toward reducing sectarian violence, though not yet to acceptable levels.

Bush defended his decisions on Iraq: "I will be able to say, I looked in the mirror and made decisions based upon principle, not based upon politics."
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