President George W. Bush delivered two messages on Iraq yesterday: He isn't in denial about the difficulties of the war, and he will spurn any strategy that includes a withdrawal on terms short of what he calls victory.

During a White House news conference, Bush effectively rejected two key findings of an independent commission headed by former Secretary of State James Baker III and former Representative Lee Hamilton. The panel advocated pulling out most U.S. combat forces by 2008 and seeking the cooperation of Iran and Syria in stabilizing Iraq.

``Failure in Iraq, or isolationism, will condemn a generation of young Americans to permanent threat from overseas,'' Bush said. ``And therefore, we will succeed in Iraq.''

Bush is struggling to rebuild support for his administration's effort in Iraq in the face of mounting sectarian bloodshed there and public discontent in the U.S. that was reflected in Republican election losses. He is in the midst of a policy review that will culminate in a speech to the nation next month.

The president ruled out unconditional negotiations with Iran and Syria. He spoke of temporarily adding troops so long as they have a clear mission -- and offered no doubts about the Iraq enterprise or its ultimate success.

Policy Reversal

Bush did announce one policy reversal at least indirectly related to Iraq. He expressed support for a permanent increase in the size of the Army and Marine Corps, a position his administration had rejected in the past.

Democrats yesterday welcomed Bush's call for a larger military while criticizing him for not undertaking a more significant change in Iraq strategy.

``The president seems lost within his own rhetoric,'' said incoming Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada. ``He is grasping for a victory his current policies have put out of reach and leaving our troops stuck policing a civil war.''

Ellen Laipson, former vice chairwoman of the National Intelligence Council, said Bush may be signaling likely approval of a temporary increase of U.S. forces in Iraq in a new effort to quell sectarian violence.

`One Last Try'

``He wants to give it one last try, to do something big,'' said Laipson, who now heads the Stimson Center, a Washington research institution. ``Staying on course or drawing down has even less chance of success.''

Bush sought yesterday to dispel perceptions that he lacks awareness of the realities in Iraq, such as the escalating violence between Shiites and Sunnis and the toll in U.S. lives.

Bush spoke of a ``merciless and violent'' enemy. He offered only one prediction about what next year will bring in Iraq: ``difficult choices and additional sacrifices.'' And he spoke of his heartbreak for the parents of fallen U.S. soldiers.

Bush paired that message with a rejection of his critics' call to set a firm timetable for withdrawing U.S. forces. The review now under way, the president said, was aimed at developing ``a path that leads to victory'' -- and that meant leaving behind a stable, democratic government.

`Troubling'

``Victory in Iraq is achievable. It hasn't happened nearly as quickly as I hoped it would have,'' Bush said. ``I know that's troubling to the American people. But I also don't believe most Americans want us just to get out now. A lot of Americans understand the consequences of retreat.''

Bush opened a window into the administration's internal deliberations by saying that military commanders have told him any increase, or ``surge,'' in U.S. forces must be done for a specific and clearly defined mission. He said he agreed with that assessment and would approve a surge only on that basis.

Laipson said that, to have any chance of success, a surge must be accompanied by new political initiatives to stabilize the Iraqi government, which she described as an ``unwieldy and somewhat dysfunctional'' coalition of Shiite parties.

If it could be broadened to include more non-Shiites, and if the party led by Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr could be expelled, the government would have a freer hand to shut down militias responsible for the communal violence, she said. Sadr's militia has been implicated in much of that violence.

Specific Mission

Anthony Cordesman, a national security analyst at Washington's Center for Strategic and International Studies, said most military officials agree that a troop surge only becomes meaningful if it is tied to a specific mission and coupled with political moves toward reconciliation.

Cordesman said Bush's rejection of the Baker-Hamilton panel's call for talks with Iran and Syria wasn't surprising.

``It's one thing to talk about working with other countries, which is a good idea,'' he said. ``But the idea that they could change the realities on the ground in Iraq, especially since they have such different goals, never seemed very convincing.''

Comments (0)

Subscribe to this comment's feed