Bush gives upbeat Iraq assessment
Bush gives upbeat Iraq assessment
Also In The News
|
The current president of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, has been accused of fixing the vote to determine who will become the country's next president as the polls closed. |
Monday, 20, Mar 2006 08:45
On the third anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, US president George Bush has given an upbeat assessment of the current situation.
The president told journalists he was confident of victory against the widespread militancy and was encouraged by the fledgling democracy's progress in forming a new national unity government.
He called on Americans to be patient for success.
"We're implementing a strategy that will lead to victory", he said.
His comments came after former Iraqi prime minister, Iyad Allawi, told the BBC that Iraq was in the grip of civil war.
Meanwhile, Donald Rumsfeld, US defence secretary, on Sunday warned against a quick withdrawal of troops for political expediency.
"Turning our backs on postwar Iraq today would be the modern equivalent of handing postwar Germany back to the Nazis," he said.
Some recent opinion polls in the US give Mr Bush an approval rating below 30 per cent.