President Bush said Sunday night he will ask Congress for $87 billion
to fight terrorism in Iraq and Afghanistan, appealing for troops and money
from other countries, even those who opposed the U.S.-led war.
Bush, in a speech from the Cabinet Room, said the United States would
not intimidated into retreat by violence.
"The terrorists have cited the examples of Beirut and Somalia, claiming
that if you inflict harm on Americans we will run from a challenge," Bush
said. "In this they are mistaken."
Bush spoke just four days before the anniversary of the terrorist
attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. Seeking support for his policy, he said, "The
surest way to avoid attacks on our own people is to engage the enemy where
he lives and plans.
"We are fighting that enemy in Iraq and Afghanistan today, so that we
do not meet him again on our own streets, in our own cities."
Bush addressed the nation from the Cabinet Room in his first major
speech on Iraq since May 1 when he stood on the deck of the aircraft
carrier Abraham Lincoln and declared an end to major combat operations.
Since then, more Americans have died in Iraq than were killed during the
war. The overall death count is 287 -- 149 since May 1.
The violence -- including four major bombing attacks in a month -- have
raised alarms about Bush's handling of Iraq. Republicans and Democrats
alike have urged Bush to change course and seek more troops and money from
other countries.
Questions also have been fueled by the administration's failure to find
any of Saddam Hussein's alleged illegal weapons or Saddam himself.
Bush said Iraq and the Middle East are critical to winning the global
war on terror. Bush's plan for Mideast plan appeared to be unraveling
after Saturday's resignation of Mahmoud Abbas, the U.S.-backed Palestinian
prime minister.
Bush described Iraq as the central front in the war against terror and
said that "enemies of freedom are making a desperate stand there, and
there they must be defeated.
"This will take time and require sacrifice," he said. "Yet we will do
what is necessary, we will spend what is necessary, to achieve this
essential victory in the war on terror, to promote freedom and to make our
own nation more secure."
Bush said the current number of U.S. troops in Iraq -- 130,000 -- is
sufficient but that more foreign troops are needed. He said two
multinational divisions, led by Britain and Poland, are serving alongside
the United States, and that American commanders have requested a third
multinational division.
Some countries have asked for an explicit U.N. peacekeeping
authorization, and Bush said Secretary of State Colin Powell would seek a
Security Council resolution to authorize deployment of new forces.
Referring to France, Germany and Russia, Bush said that "not all of our
friends agreed with our decision (to) ... remove Saddam Hussein from
power. Yet we cannot let past differences interfere with present
duties."
