Bush upbeat on Iraq
US president tells troops in Kuwait that Iraq withdrawal plans are on track.
‘On track’
“My attitude is if he didn’t want to continue the drawdown, that’s fine with me,” Bush said.
“The only thing I can tell you is we’re on track for what we’ve said was going to happen,” he said, referring to plans to withdraw some 30,000 troops from Iraq by July.
Bush is in Kuwait on the first leg of a visit to the Gulf. He will also be visiting Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
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“What has to happen in order for there to be a peaceful settlement of a long-standing dispute is … outlines of a state clearly defined.” |
During the trip he hopes to persuade the Arab nations to assist with the Israel-Palestine peace process and help contain Iran.
General David Petraeus, the commander of US forces in Iraq, and Ryan Crocker, the US ambassador to Baghdad, met Bush on Saturday at Camp Arifjan.
Bush defended his decision a year ago to order a buildup of troops to Iraq.
“The new way forward I announced a year ago changed our approach in fundamental ways,” he said. “Iraq is now a different place from one year ago.”
“Levels of violence are significantly reduced. Hope is returning to Baghdad,” he said, adding that the al-Qaeda network in Iraq had been “dealt heavy blows”.
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