Is the AP Trying to Make Bush a Saint? Just Asking. Possibly the Single Most Compromising Photo Run by a Wire Service During the Era of the Bush Cartel. This Isn't a News Photograph; It's a Kremlin Like Propaganda Shot Meant to Invoke a Halo. 10/14
(AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
Bush Defends All Aspects of Iraq Policy
Tue Oct 14, 4:58 AM ET
By JENNIFER LOVEN, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON - President Bush is seeking to set the record on Iraq straight as he sees it, arguing that his decision to go to war was correct, the aftermath has been successful and feuding about it among his foreign policy team is nonexistent.
The defense of the administration's Iraq strategy came in a series of interviews Monday with regional television outlets that allowed Bush to take his message directly to people outside Washington. The effort is part of a White House public relations offensive that began last week with a series of speeches by Bush and other top administration officials, aimed at countering dropping poll numbers.
On whether going to war against former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein was warranted, even though Iraq's suspected weapons of mass destruction have not been found, Bush told Tribune Broadcasting: "You bet he was a gathering threat and America did the right thing by getting rid of him."
"I absolutely made the right decision at the right time," he added to the Belo television group. "There's no doubt in my mind that the world is better off without him in power."
On criticism about continuing violence in Iraq and the slow pace of infrastructure improvements, Bush said: "There's been tremendous progress since Saddam Hussein fell. And we shouldn't make light of the fact that the hospital system is up and running and doing very well, or schools."
On accusations, including from one top Republican, that turf battles inside the administration have bogged down postwar planning: "We've got a very clear strategy," Bush told Hearst-Argyle Television. "The American people, all they have to do if they want to figure out the strategy is look at exactly what we did and there's a great deal of consistency."
There have been questions about who is running the administration's Iraq policy. National security adviser Condoleezza Rice was named as head of an Iraq Stabilization Group to assert more control, as Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld grumbled that he had not been aware of the move. There also have been well-publicized tensions among Rumsfeld, Secretary of State Colin Powell and Vice President Dick Cheney over Iraq.
But, Bush said in the Tribune interview, "The person who is in charge is me."
The president also took aim at the media's Iraq coverage, amid complaints from the White House that the reporting overemphasizes the bad news.
"There's a sense that people in America aren't getting the truth," he told Hearst-Argyle. "I'm mindful of the filter through which some news travels, and sometimes you just have to go over the heads of the filter and speak directly to the people."
In a sign that the public relations offensive may be paying off, Bush saw an uptick in his poll numbers Monday. A CNN-USA Today-Gallup poll had his approval rating at 56 percent, up from 50 percent in a similar poll in mid-September.
"If the people don't think I'm doing my job, they'll find somebody they think ... can, that's my attitude," he said in the Tribune interview.
Still, Bush was quick to say that he will make the case as his re-election campaign heats up that his efforts have made the nation safer and more prosperous.
"I fully recognize that, you know, not everyone agrees," he said. "Hopefully they agree I'm a person who knows how to lead."
He refused to say how long U.S. forces will stay in Iraq, saying it will depend on "when there is a free and peaceful Iraq based upon a constitution and elections."
"If we were to get out right now it would be a terrible mistake," he said. "A free and peaceful Iraq is in this nation's interest and plus we've made a commitment to the overwhelming number of Iraqis who do not want Saddam Hussein or his thugs to return."
Bush said he wants the U.S. occupation to end as quickly as possible. But, he said, "We are mindful of rushing the process which would create the conditions for failure."
Bush claimed success in other areas as well:
_On the war on terrorism: "We are making very good progress about dismantling al-Qaida and its people connected to al-Qaida. But we have work to do."
_On the economy, an area that has been a drag on his approval ratings: "We're growing pretty robustly given what we've been through," he told Belo, giving his tax cuts most of the credit.
