US President Bush urged a skeptical Congress Tuesday night (early Wednesday Middle East time) to embrace his plan to dispatch additional soldiers to Iraq, noting it represents the best hope in a war America must win. "Give it a chance to work," he said.
Bush was speaking on Iraq in his annual State of the Union address.
Bush divided his 49-minute address between domestic and foreign issues, but the war in Iraq was topic No. 1. "Our country is pursuing a new strategy in Iraq and I ask you to give it a chance to work," Bush said. "And I ask you to support our troops in the field and those on their way."
Bush said the Iraq war had changed dramatically with the outbreak of sectarian warfare and reprisals. "This is not the fight we entered in Iraq, but it is the fight we are in," the president said. "Every one of us wishes that this war were over and won. Yet it would not be like us to leave our promises unkept, our friends abandoned and our own security at risk.
"Ladies and gentlemen: On this day, at this hour, it is still within our power to shape the outcome of this battle," the president said. "Let us find our resolve and turn events toward victory."
"Many in this chamber understand that America must not fail in Iraq because you understand that the consequences of failure would be grievous and far reaching," the president said. "If American forces step back before Baghdad is secure, the Iraqi government would be overrun by extremists on all sides." In such a case, he forecast "an epic battle," Shiite extremists backed by Iran against Sunni extremists aided by al-Qaida and supporters of Saddam Hussein's government, leading to violence that could spread across the Middle East. "For America, this is a nightmare scenario," Bush said.
