Bush makes well-worn case on Iraq

By Matthew Davis
BBC News, Washington

US President George W Bush has again defended US policy in Iraq, as he interrupted his holiday to address war veterans in Utah.

The speech was Mr Bush's first public appearance in more than a week

While the president has been secluded at his ranch in Texas, anti-war protesters camped by the roadside have taken the limelight.

This speech was Mr Bush's first public appearance in more than a week and, although long-planned, was a chance for the president to seize back the centre stage.

In front of an appreciative audience, Mr Bush once again made his case for staying the course in Iraq.

Using now familiar language, he said the US would "finish the task" that its troops had given their lives for, and withdraw from Iraq only when Iraqi forces could stand by themselves.

A second speech is planned in Idaho on Wednesday and the administration is hoping the high-profile appearances will help stem growing public concern about the conduct of the war.

The White House would desperately like to see the passage of a new Iraqi constitution - and elections scheduled for December - reinforce a sense among Americans that progress is being made.

But shortly after the president spoke, Iraqi lawmakers announced they had failed to meet a deadline for agreeing the draft document, and will extend their discussions for another three days.

... We are locked into a bogged-down problem not unsimilar, dissimilar to where we were in Vietnam Senator Chuck Hagel (R)

Mr Bush told veterans that Americans understood the challenges facing Iraq's politicians engaged in "courageous efforts".

And he set what was happening in Iraq in a historical context, saying America's own past demonstrated that writing a constitution was a task complicated by political rivalries and regional disagreements.

In front of soldiers who had fought in Vietnam and Korea, he said America had to honour the 1,800 US troops who had died in Iraq, by finishing their mission.

But in the last few days, historical parallels have helped fuel a anti-war movement that had been buoyed by the publicity attracted by Cindy Sheehan, a mother whose son died in Iraq.

'Sloganeering'

On Sunday evening, folk singer and peace activist Joan Baez - a veteran of the anti-Vietnam demonstrations - joined Sheehan's anti-war protest at the president's ranch.

Cindy Sheehan's protest has become a lightning rod for debate

Meanwhile, a leading politician from Mr Bush's party, Republican Senator Chuck Hagel, made a public comparison between Iraq and Vietnam.

Mr Hagel told ABC News that the conflict had destabilised Iraq and that to "stay the course" was not a policy.

"We are locked into a bogged-down problem not unsimilar, dissimilar to where we were in Vietnam," he said. "The longer we stay, the more problems we're going to have."

Predictions that US public support for the war is on the verge of spiralling downward, Vietnam style, so far have not been borne out.

But some commentators - particularly on the left of the political spectrum - are beginning to wonder if popular support for the Iraq war is approaching a "tipping point".

Those looking for anything new in Mr Bush's latest speech to shift the balance were disappointed.

Democrat Senator Russ Feingold dismissed the remarks as "more of the same sloganeering that has not made us stronger or safer in the global fight against terrorism".

The White House hopes that Mr Bush's policy of repeating the same powerful messages will resonate with the US public.

But whatever Mr Bush says, many would argue that events thousands of miles away are the real driver of support for the president's position.