Bush to hail prospect of Iraq "strategic victory"

Reuters ^ | Tue Mar 18, 2008 9:56pm EDT | Matt Spetalnick

[gondramB]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush will acknowledge on Wednesday the Iraq war has been fought at a high cost but will insist a U.S. troop buildup has opened the door to a "major strategic victory" against Islamic militants.

"The successes we are seeing in Iraq are undeniable," Bush will say in an upbeat assessment of the U.S.-led campaign in a speech marking the fifth anniversary of the war, according to excerpts released on Tuesday.

With less than 11 months left in office and his approval ratings near the lows of his presidency, Bush is trying to shore up support for the unpopular war, which has damaged U.S. credibility abroad and is sure to define his legacy.

[gondramB]

The surge has been helpful beyond expectations. Given a clear choice between McCain who would stay and finish the job and Obama/Hillary who would cut and run the Iraqis are clearly nervous and are being more clear they want and appreciate our help. And the source is Reuters so there is likely some bias in the reporting...

But, still, anything that sounds like declaring victory seems unwise to me.

[Night Hides Not]

But, still, anything that sounds like declaring victory seems unwise to me.

Agreed...but Dubya also tried to foist Harriett Miers on us for SCOTUS, so anything's possible.

[Thrownatbirth]

The best news will always be the removal of tens of thousands of US-hating jihadists from the planet.

[avacado]

"Bush is trying to shore up support for the unpopular war,"

Unpopular war as opposed to a popular war? Why don't these jopurnalists just give the facts as says it as: "Bush is trying to shore up support for the Iraq War which overthrew one of the most brutal dictators since Pol Pot and Hitler."

[tobyhill]

All he has to do is declare a sovereign Democratically elected Iraqi Government that still need our help and then declare complete victory, period. No more “mission accomplished”. There’s still US deaths and there’s still violence in Iraq but there’s still US deaths in Germany and Japan and there’s still violence in Germany and Japan. For a country like Iraq just coming off a major conflict there will be violence but 20-30 violent deaths a day is not out of the norm.

[silverleaf]

I agree- speech declaration= BAD IDEA.
Those that know, know we are winning.
Those that don’t- won’t. Ever. Accept any good outcome from the Bush policy.

The President’s words will be used against him (and our troops) in a major way.

[IonInsights]

He must declare victory before the election, ideally mid-summer, IMHO.

[Polybius]

But, still, anything that sounds like declaring victory seems unwise to me.

Extremely unwise.

The strategic stakes involved (preventing 70% of the World's known oil reserves from falling under the control of Iranian Islamist extremists seeking nuclear weapons and ICBM's) will require a long term U.S. presence just as post World War II Western Europe and just as Korea did.

Declaring "victory" only plays into the hands of the "Cut & Run Crowd".

"Bush said we already won. Why not bring the troops home NOW?"

In this war, the greatest threats to an ultimate U.S. victory have been the Democrats, the liberal news media and George W. Bush's inability to effectively communicate as a war leader.

[gondramB]

>> Declaring “victory” only plays into the hands of the “Cut & Run Crowd”.

“Bush said we already won. Why not bring the troops home NOW?”<<

Excellent argument.