Bush Pleads For Patience On War Anniversary

From Reuters:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Striking a subdued tone on the fourth anniversary of the Iraq war, President George W. Bush pleaded for patience on Monday and warned skeptical Americans of dire consequences of a swift troop withdrawal.

With polls showing him near the weakest point of his presidency, Bush defended his Iraq policy to a nation increasingly opposed to the war and unsupportive of his drive to send in nearly 30,000 additional troops.

Bush, in a brief televised statement from the White House, appealed to Americans for more time while acknowledging: "Prevailing in Iraq is not going to be easy."

His cautious tone contrasted sharply with the swagger shown when he stood on the deck of an aircraft carrier weeks after the U.S.-led invasion that toppled
Saddam Hussein and declared that major combat operations in Iraq were over.

As the war entered its fifth year, insurgents carried out deadly bombings in Kirkuk and Baghdad, and a new poll showed most Iraqis with little or no confidence in U.S.-led forces.

"Four years after this war began, the fight is difficult but it can be won," Bush said after a teleconference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. "It will be won if we have the courage and resolve to see it through."

While insisting there had been progress, Bush did not repeat his earlier vow to achieve outright victory. His rhetoric has been tempered by relentless violence bordering on civil war which U.S. forces seem unable to control.

But Bush stuck to his refusal to set a timetable for a U.S. withdrawal despite stepped-up pressure from the new Democratic-led Congress.