Bush Gives New
Reason For Iraq War
By Jennifer Loven
01 September, 2005
Associated Press
President Bush answered growing antiwar
protests yesterday with a fresh reason for US troops to continue fighting
in Iraq: protection of the country's vast oil fields, which he said
would otherwise fall under the control of terrorist extremists.
The president, standing
against a backdrop of the USS Ronald Reagan, the newest aircraft carrier
in the Navy's fleet, said terrorists would be denied their goal of making
Iraq a base from which to recruit followers, train them, and finance
attacks.
''We will defeat
the terrorists," Bush said. ''We will build a free Iraq that will
fight terrorists instead of giving them aid and sanctuary."
Appearing at Naval
Air Station North Island to commemorate the anniversary of the Allies'
World War II victory over Japan, Bush compared his resolve to President
Franklin D. Roosevelt's in the 1940s and said America's mission in Iraq
is to turn it into a democratic ally just as the United States did with
Japan after its 1945 surrender. Bush's V-J Day ceremony did not fall
on the actual anniversary. Japan announced its surrender on Aug. 15,
1945 -- Aug. 14 in the United States because of the time difference.
Democrats said Bush's
leadership falls far short of Roosevelt's.
''Democratic Presidents
Roosevelt and Truman led America to victory in World War II because
they laid out a clear plan for success to the American people, America's
allies, and America's troops," said Howard Dean, Democratic Party
chairman. ''President Bush has failed to put together a plan, so despite
the bravery and sacrifice of our troops, we are not making the progress
that we should be in Iraq. The troops, our allies, and the American
people deserve better leadership from our commander in chief."
The speech was Bush's
third in just over a week defending his Iraq policies, as the White
House scrambles to counter growing public concern about the war. But
the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf Coast drew
attention away; the White House announced during the president's remarks
that he was cutting his August vacation short to return to Washington,
D.C., to oversee the federal response effort.
After the speech,
Bush hurried back to Texas ahead of schedule to prepare to fly back
to the nation's capital today. He was to return to the White House on
Friday, after spending more than four weeks operating from his ranch
in Crawford.
Bush's August break
has been marked by problems in Iraq.
It has been an especially
deadly month there for US troops, with the number of those who have
died since the invasion of Iraq in March 2003 now nearing 1,900.
The growing death
toll has become a regular feature of the slightly larger protests that
Bush now encounters everywhere he goes -- a movement boosted by a vigil
set up in a field down the road from the president's ranch by a mother
grieving the loss of her soldier son in Iraq.
Cindy Sheehan arrived
in Crawford only days after Bush did, asking for a meeting so he could
explain why her son and others are dying in Iraq. The White House refused,
and Sheehan's camp turned into a hub of activity for hundreds of activists
around the country demanding that troops be brought home.
This week, the administration
also had to defend the proposed constitution produced in Iraq at US
urging. Critics fear the impact of its rejection by many Sunnis, and
say it fails to protect religious freedom and women's rights.
At the naval base,
Bush declared, ''We will not rest until victory is America's and our
freedom is secure" from Al Qaeda and its forces in Iraq led by
Abu Musab alZarqawi.
''If Zarqawi and
[Osama] bin Laden gain control of Iraq, they would create a new training
ground for future terrorist attacks," Bush said. ''They'd seize
oil fields to fund their ambitions. They could recruit more terrorists
by claiming a historic victory over the United States and our coalition."
© 2005 Associated
Press