Bush says Iraq critics buying into enemy propaganda

Team Infidel

Forum Spin Doctor
Media: The Associated Press
Byline: TOM RAUM
Date: 29 September 2006


WASHINGTON_President George W. Bush asserted Friday that critics who claim
the Iraq war has made America less safe embrace "the enemy's propaganda." He
acknowledged setbacks in Afghanistan against a Taliban resurgence but
predicted eventual victory.

"You do not create terrorism by fighting terrorism," he told a receptive
military audience. "If that ever becomes the mind-set of the policymakers in
Washington, it means we'll go back to the old days of waiting to be attacked
_ and then respond."

It was the latest in Bush's series of speeches defending his Iraq and
anti-terrorism policies against heightened attacks from Democrats, who now
are citing a government intelligence assessment to bolster their criticism.
The classified National Intelligence Estimate, parts of which Bush
declassified earlier this week, suggests the Iraq war has helped recruit
more terrorists.

"Some have selectively quoted from this document to make the case that by
fighting the terrorists _ by fighting them in Iraq _ we are making our
people less secure here at home," Bush told the Reserve Officers
Association. "This argument buys into the enemy's propaganda that the
terrorists attack us because we're provoking them."

With just over five weeks left before congressional elections, Democrats
were quick to react. "President Bush's election-year attacks are the product
of a desperate White House with no credibility left with the American
people," said Howard Dean, chairman of the Democratic National Committee.

"It was yet another example of how he is in denial over what is happening in
the war on terror," said House Minority Leader Nancy Pelos.

Meanwhile Bush spoke by phone four about 15 minutes on Friday with Iraqi
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, said White House spokesman Tony Snow. They
discussed efforts to bring greater security to Baghdad and "the need for
further progress in political reconciliation," Snow said.

Bush spent most of his speech talking about the conflict in Afghanistan,
where militant violence, particularly in the southern part of the country,
has spiked in the worst outbreak since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion that
toppled the Taliban government.

"The training of the Afghan police has not gone as smoothly as that of the
army," Bush said. "The police have faced problems with corruption and
substandard leadership. And we've made our concerns known to our friends in
the Afghan government."

Bush noted that Afghan President Hamid Karzai has named a new team to lead
the national police. "As the police become more capable and better led and
more disciplined, they will gain legitimacy and they will earn the respect
of the Afghan people," Bush said. He met with Karzai on Tuesday and
Wednesday.

Bush said he welcomed NATO's decision this week to take the lead in
providing security and reconstruction assistance throughout Afghanistan.

"Under the plan, the U.S. will transfer 12,000 of our troops that are now
serving in the country to the NATO force, while the rest will remain under
coalition command and continue anti-terrorist operations across the
country," Bush said.

Bush's speech to the military group followed one he gave the day before at a
Republican fundraiser where he accused Democrats of "obstruction and endless
second-guessing" and not having the stomach to persist in Iraq.
 
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