Bush Plays Down Iraq’s Failure to Meet Benchmarks

08/28/2007

By Michael Abramowitz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, August 28, 2007


RENO, Nev, Aug. 28--President Bush played down the failure of the Iraqi government to meet political benchmarks set by the U.S. Congress, telling American Legionnaires Tuesday morning that it makes no sense to ignore real military progress despite the Iraqi government's failure to approve all the laws it promised.

While acknowledging that the government has more work to do to meet the legislative benchmarks, Bush said goals are effectively being reached without legislation. He asserted, for instance, that the Iraqi government is sharing oil revenues throughout the nation's provinces, though a formal national oil law has not been passed.

At the same time, the president said, a new U.S. military strategy -- implemented with additional U.S. forces-- is "showing results." He said American forces are dislodging Sunni extremists from Baghdad and other strongholds, and sectarian violence has declined in Iraq's capital.

"The momentum is now on our side," Bush said. "The surge is seizing the initiative from the enemy -- and handing it to the Iraqi people."

Alluding to complaints about the failure of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government to meet the benchmarks, Bush accused his critics of moving the goalposts. He said they are disregarding political advances at a local level and minimizing the ultimate impact of improved security in fostering national reconciliation.

"Their argument used to be that security was bad," the president said. "Now their argument seems to be security is better -- so the surge has failed." The crowd chuckled.

Bush portrayed the region as perched between what he described as the Sunni extremism of al Qaeda and the Shiite extremism of the Iranian government. He had especially belligerent language for Iran, accusing Tehran of funding terrorists around the world, as well as the Taliban in Afghanistan, while pursuing technology that could put the region under "the shadow of a nuclear holocaust."

"Iran's actions threaten the security of nations everywhere, and that is why the United States is rallying friends and allies around the world to isolate the regime, to impose economic sanctions," Bush said. "We will confront this danger before it is too late."

"I want our fellow citizens to consider what would happen if these forces of radicalism and extremism are allowed to drive us out of the Middle East," he added. "The region would be dramatically transformed in a way that could imperil the civilized world."

Bush's address is part of an effort to lay the groundwork for keeping in place many of the 30,000 additional troops he ordered to Iraq last January to restore security in Baghdad and Anbar province. While Bush has said he is awaiting an assessment next month from commanding general David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker, he has been increasingly citing signs of progress and making clear the huge stakes he sees in Iraq as he tries to pre-empt congressional efforts to bring the war to a quicker close.

Many national security experts believe Bush is overemphasizing the signs of progress. A national intelligence assessment last week saw little hope for national reconciliation in the months ahead, and administration officials have privately sounded a more skeptical tone about the efficacy of the Maliki government.

Even Democrats, however, believe Bush may have in his grasp the possibility of extending the troop build-up, at least until April, when the necessity of ending 15-month tours will require the beginning of a troop drawdown. There are now about 160,00 U.S. troops in Iraq.

Bush's address, which was warmly received by the thousands of veterans gathered here, was the second in a week aimed at putting the Iraqi conflict in a larger context. Last week, Bush tried to apply what he saw as the lessons of America's military conflicts in Asia to explain the dangers of premature withdrawal from Iraq. This morning, he focused on the consequences of the war in Iraq for the future course of the broader Middle East.

In a statement responding to Bush's address, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said that "The President continues to stubbornly pursue a flawed strategy that has mired our troops in a civil war in Iraq and diverted our attention as Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda grow stronger. Most Americans, and a bipartisan majority in Congress, believe this strategy is not in our national interest and the time for a major change in strategy is now."

Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-Del.) blasted Bush's speech, saying administration policies had fostered extremism in Iraq.

"Today, he said we have to stay in Iraq to fight extremists, but the reality is, it's been his misguided policies and mismanaged war that has fueled extremists in Iraq and in Afghanistan," said Biden, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a candidate for the Democratic White House nomination.

But Biden seconded the president's assessment of Iran's role in the conflict. "I don't think there's anything constructive the Iranians can do," he said. "They're already interfering, and they're not being constructive."