Posted on 03/27/2008 8:24:56 AM PDT by nuconvert
Bush: Progress in Iraq is real
By JAMES HANNAH, Associated Press Writer
DAYTON, Ohio - President Bush on Thursday promoted his war policies, a possible focal point in the presidential campaign as the November election approaches in politically pivotal Ohio.
The troop surge in Iraq has resulted in significant security gains for the country, he said at the National
Museum of the United States Air Force, at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.
The number of sectarian attacks in the volatile Anbar province have plummeted since the surge, he said.
"The progress in Iraq is real, it's substantive," he said.
Recent news that the U.S. death toll in Iraq hit 4,000 has again turned a spotlight on the conflict, which is entering its sixth year.
The war in Iraq is part of Bush's legacy, and he wants it viewed as a success, said William Binning, professor emeritus of political science at Youngstown State University.
"He wants to build public support for that," said Binning, a former county GOP chairman. "And Ohio is a place where you have a better chance of selling that than San Francisco."
More than 20,000 people work at Wright-Patterson, which oversees the distribution of Air Force supplies around the world to maintain aircraft, develops new technologies for warplanes and pumps millions of dollars into the local economy.
As Bush arrived, about 30 protesters demonstrated outside the museum, carrying signs that read, "Shame," and "This is not Bush county. This is our country."
Gary Staiger, a Vietnam war veteran, bemoaned what he called the small size of the protest.
"It's because we've been sold a bill of goods," said Staiger, 59, of Dayton. "It's a tragedy that more people aren't here."
Ohio Democratic Party Chairman Chris Redfern held a news conference near the site to call for an end to the war in Iraq, saying it has put a burden on Ohio's economy.
"Ohio cannot compete if the price of gasoline is going be $4 or $5 a gallon," Redfern said.
Bush's visit was to include an appearance in suburban Bellbrook at a private luncheon fundraiser for the Republican National Committee.
Mike Jackson, a Vietnam War veteran, said Wednesday that he's happy to have Bush in the area, but worries that a protracted war in Iraq could begin to hurt the military in the eyes of the public.
"I'm starting to see a lot of parallels between the war in Iraq and the war in Vietnam," said Jackson, 61, of Tipp City. "We got in and didn't seem to have a way to get out."
Jackson also said it would be a disservice to the soldiers who died in Iraq and their families if the U.S. abruptly decided to pull out.
NO bias in this report
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