Bush: Saddam regime 'not coming back'
Cites 'comprehensive strategy' for Iraq
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President Bush called Saddam Hussein's sons, killed Tuesday, "chief henchmen" for the regime.
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CNN's Rym Brahimi on Iraqis in Baghdad waking up to news of the deaths of the Hussein brothers.
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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The killing of Saddam Hussein's sons Uday and Qusay show that "the former regime is gone and will not be coming back," President Bush said Wednesday, and he urged other countries to assist the U.S.-led occupation in Iraq.
Bush said the remnants of Saddam's Baath Party regime "are trying to prevent the advance of order and freedom," but "they are being hunted and they will be defeated."
"Yesterday in the city of Mosul, the careers of two of the regime's chief henchmen came to an end," Bush said. "Saddam Hussein's sons were responsible for torture, maiming and murder of countless Iraqis. Now more than ever, all Iraqis can know that the former regime is gone and will not be coming back."
Qusay and Uday were killed in a gun battle Tuesday in Mosul after a local resident tipped off U.S. troops to their presence, U.S. commanders said.
In a Rose Garden appearance Wednesday morning, Bush said L. Paul Bremer -- the U.S. administrator in Iraq -- has a "comprehensive strategy" to restore order in that nation and foster a "secure and prosperous" country that will live in peace with its neighbors.
"The plan sets out ambitious timetables and clear benchmarks to measure progress and practical methods for achieving results," he said.
Bush was accompanied at the event by Joint Chiefs Chairman Richard Myers, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and the U.S. civil administrator for Iraq, L. Paul Bremer. None of the participants took questions from reporters.
The Bush administration has faced mounting calls to bring in more international peacekeepers to aid in the occupation, but its decision to invade Iraq in March without U.N. support has made other countries reluctant to send troops.
Bush said 19 allies have provided 13,000 troops to assist the 148,000 U.S. troops in Iraq "and additional forces will soon arrive."
He said the establishment of an Iraqi governing council -- the beginning of an eventual restoration of self-government -- created "a broadly representative partner with whom the U.N. and the international community can engage to build Iraq's future."
"Now that we have reached this important milestone, I urge the nations of the world to contribute militarily and financially towards fulfilling Security Council Resolution 1483's vision of a free and secure Iraq," Bush said.
