Bush: 'Thugs' in Iraq aim to derail democracy
Democrats: Bush 'failed to plan for the chaos' happening now
(CNN) -- In his weekly radio address, the president said that coalition forces were conducting actions in several cities to stamp down the wildfire insurgency that has flared intensely this week.
"Our coalition's quick reaction forces are finding and engaging the enemy," he said. "Prisoners are being taken, and intelligence is being gathered. Our decisive actions will continue until these enemies of democracy are dealt with."
Bush said delaying the handover date would be "precisely what our enemies want."
"They want to dictate the course of events in Iraq and to prevent the Iraqi people from having a true voice in their future," he said. "They want America and our coalition to falter in our commitments before a watching world. In these ambitions, the enemies of freedom will fail.
"Iraqi sovereignty will arrive on June 30," he said.
But Sen. Carl Levin, D-Michigan, said in his party's weekly radio address that the troubles facing the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq were the result of mistakes the country was on the verge of making again.
Aside from "massive" intelligence failures that led to a fruitless hunt for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, Levin -- a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee -- said the United States "failed to anticipate and plan for the chaos and violence we have confronted in Iraq since the fall of Saddam Hussein."
Levin, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said that disbanding Iraq's army -- "leaving tens of thousands of young, armed and angry Iraqi men with no means to support their families" -- was a huge mistake.
"Perhaps our greatest mistake was the failure to appreciate the importance of securing international support through the United Nations before initiating hostilities against Iraq," he said. "Today we are paying the price for acting so unilaterally. But instead of learning from that mistake, we are on the verge of repeating it."
The senator said the United Nations' input on the June 30 handover was crucial for Iraq's future and that a delay may not be an option.
"Given the expectations which have been created for the restoration of sovereignty on June 30, there is a risk of increased violence if we fail to end our status as an occupying power on that date," he said.
On the other hand, he said, "if we restore sovereignty to an entity created by the United States that doesn't have the support of the Iraqi people and the international community, there could be even greater violence against our forces, including the possibility of civil war."
The solution, Levin said, is "embracing the U.N. as a full partner in deciding the makeup of an interim government."
"It would demonstrate our recognition that, while America is the world's pre-eminent military power, we recognize the limits of military force and understand that others have much to contribute in solving the serious problems in Iraq," he said.
Bush also said that the coalition's commitment to Iraq would not end with the handover of sovereignty.
"The transition to sovereignty will mark the beginning of a new government, and the end of the coalition's administrative duties," he said. "... We will continue helping the Iraqi people reconstruct their economy, undermined by decades of dictatorship and corruption. And our coalition forces will remain committed to the security of Iraq."
The United States, he said. "is fighting on the side of liberty -- liberty in Iraq, and liberty in the Middle East."