Bush, Allawi united on Iraq
From Wolf Blitzer
CNN
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Bush and interim Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi emerged from the Oval Office and walked into the Rose Garden speaking with one voice Thursday:
"If we stop fighting the terrorists in Iraq, they would be free to plot and plan attacks elsewhere, in America and other free nations," Bush said at a joint news conference.
Allawi echoed Bush saying, "Iraq is becoming the front line for the global fight against terrorists."
Connecting the war in Iraq to the broader war on terror has been a pillar of the president's strategy during the U.S. presidential campaign.
Iraq has emerged as the central issue in the election.
Without mentioning his Democratic challenger by name, the president pointedly used the Allawi visit to go after John Kerry's supposed flip-flops on the Iraq war.
"I believe a leader must be consistent and clear and not change positions when times get tough. And the times have been hard. These are hard times. But I understand what mixed messages do. You can embolden an enemy by sending mixed messages," President Bush said.
On the campaign trail in Columbus, Ohio, Kerry shot right back saying, "I want victory. I want to win. And I have a better plan to win than George Bush does. The president says that things are getting better in Iraq and we must just stay the course. Well, I disagree. They're not getting better and we need to change the course to protect our troops and to win."
On Capitol Hill, the commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East, Gen. John Abizaid, was asked whether more U.S. troops might be needed in Iraq. There are some 138,000 there now.
Abizaid responded, "I think we will need more troops then we currently have to secure the elections process in Iraq -- that will probably take place in January -- but it is our belief that those troops will be Iraqi troops and there may be additional international troops that arrive to help out, as well as part of the U.N. mission. So I don't see need for more American troops, but we can't discount it."
The president said, "Obviously, we could work this out. I mean, if our commanders on the ground feel it's in the interest of the Iraqi citizens to provide more troops, we'll talk about it."
For his part, Allawi insisted more U.S. troops are not needed. What's needed, he said, are more Iraqi troops to get the job done. And addressing a joint meeting of Congress, he insisted that's happening:
"The Iraqi government now commands 50,000 armed and combat ready Iraqis. By January, it will be some 145,000. And by the end of next year, some 250,000 Iraqis," said Allawi.
Both the president and the prime minister also insisted things were moving in the right direction in Iraq despite a recent assessment by the National Intelligence Council suggesting the opposite.
"We are succeeding in Iraq," Allawi said.
"I saw a poll that said the right track/wrong track in Iraq was better than here in America. It was pretty darn strong. I mean, the people see a better future," said Bush.
John Kerry offered this reply:
"I think the prime minister is obviously contradicting his own statement of a few days ago where he said the terrorists are pouring into the country. The prime minister and the president are here, obviously, to put their best face on the policy. But the fact is that CIA estimates, the reporting, the ground operations and the troops all tell a different story."
