Bush and Blair admit mistakes, but see progress in IraqPresident Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair acknowledged last night that mistakes have been made in the execution of the Iraq war, but hailed the formation of a permanent government as a significant step towards stabilizing the country for eventual self rule.
Neither Bush nor Blair would commit to a specific date as to when coalition forces would withdraw from Iraq, and the President said he intended to "keep the force level there necessary to win." But Blair did say he thought Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's prediction that his country would be able to assume security responsibilities by the close of 2007 was "possible."
"I think what will you find is that progressively, there will be more and more parts of Iraq that are policed by the Iraqi security forces themselves, and their capability is improving," Blair said. "But I also think you will find, probably over the next few months, there will be a real attempt by the anti-democratic forces to test them very, very strongly."
Bush said the biggest mistake he made was his challenge to insurgent fighters when he dared them to "Bring it on!"
"I learned some lessons about expressing myself maybe in a little more sophisticated manner," the President said. "I think in certain parts of the world, it was misinterpreted."
Bush also noted that the Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal has tarnished the U.S. reputation abroad and hindered efforts in Iraq. But he added the United States acted quickly to bring those to justice.
"We've been paying for that for a long period of time," he said. "Unlike Iraq, however, under Saddam, the people who committed those acts were brought to justice."
Blair admitted they underestimated the will of the insurgent fighters.
"The biggest reason why Iraq has been difficult is the determination by our opponents to defeat us," he said.
And he noted that it was wrong to prevent members of Baath Party from participating in planning for a new government.
"Though at the time it was very difficult to argue this, we could have done de-Baathification in a more differentiated way than we did," he said.
***RUMSFELD REITERATES BUSH'S RESOLVE: Following the Bush and Blair nationally televised news conference, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld sat down for a one-on-one interview with CNN's Larry King. Rumsfeld backed Bush's decision not to name a specific date to withdraw troops, saying, "It just doesn't do any good.
"It's based on conditions on the ground," Rumsfeld said. "There's no question that it's our desire to reduce the forces and we intend to and the Iraqis intend for us to."
Rumsfeld also answered a number of questions on the war including...
Criticism that not enough troops were initially sent into Iraq: "I suppose history will decide that. The fact of the matter is that we sent the number of troops that every single general in the chain of command wanted. Now, could you have overridden them and sent more? You know, people run around saying, 'Well, you sent less than the generals wanted.' That's just utter nonsense. It's not true."
Voters will send a message in the midterm elections that they do not support the war: "I think the people are very likely to do the right thing." He later added, "The American people have -- we put all of our faith, all of our confidence in the American people with this Constitution. We said given sufficient information on big issues, they'll find their way to the right decision and that doesn't mean one party or another. It means will they persevere in this instance? And I believe they will."
Poor pre-war intelligence: "It was imperfect intelligence, but all intelligence is imperfect. There's no way in the world you can know all kinds of things like that and behavior perfectly. You can't predict it. What do they say that a war plan never survives first contact with the enemy? You sit there and you take all the intelligence. You fashion a war plan. You begin and the enemy's got a brain, so it's constantly adapting and adjusting, and you have to adapt and adjust to the changes that take place."
The biggest surprise: "I would think the absence of -- not finding weapons of mass destruction would be the biggest surprise. I mean, the intelligence, everyone saw it. Everyone believed it. And, goodness knows, the President did, the United Nations, the Congress, people all saw it there, the other countries in the world. And, it wasn't -- we know he had chemical weapons. We know he used chemical weapons against his own people and his neighbors. But finding them, of course ... We found a lot of things that were buried, found jet airplanes buried of all things if you can imagine burying a jet airplane in the dirt."
Leaving his post anytime soon: "I'm not going to get into that. I obviously feel that what we're doing is important. I support (Bush) enthusiastically. He is enormously talented, bright. I just spent an hour and a half with him. And he must have asked 50 questions of [Gen.] John Abizaid and me and [Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Peter] Pace. The three of us were with him. And I enjoy working with him, because he is such a talented, dedicated, decent person."
***BOEHNER URGES COLLEAGUES TO TOUT GOP ACCOMPLISHMENTS: In addition to receiving talking points on the big issues of the day, GOP lawmakers were also given a strategy memo written by House Majority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) that urges them to promote Republican legislative accomplishments over the Memorial Day recess. Boehner touts the GOP's work on the economy, border security, national security, and the differences in approach between Democrats and Republicans on gas prices.
Boehner writes the GOP has much more to do "in the coming weeks and months."
"We'll continue our work to hold the line on spending, we'll work on border security and pension security and providing affordable health care to working families, and we'll work to help lower energy prices for working Americans," he writes. "And that's just a start. We have a tremendous opportunity ahead of us. United together behind a common vision that reflects our principles and values as Republicans, we will be successful in moving our ambitious agenda and responding to the concerns of the American people."
***GIVE (FRIST) HELL HARRY: Not to be outdone, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) accused Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tennessee) yesterday of cluttering up the legislative schedule with social issues such as a constitutional amendment banning same sex marriage for his own personal gain.
"Bill Frist is hoping to resurrect his leadership and raise his presidential profile by turning to Karl Rove's playbook of 'distort, distract, and divide,'" Reid wrote to supporters of his Give Em' Hell Harry Web site. "It is sad to see that Republicans are willing to sacrifice the Constitution, a sacrosanct document for their short-term political goals."
Reid added, "These tactics will not stop us in 2006. The American people are fed up with the "do nothing Bush Republicans" and pandering to the extreme right wing in their party will do them no good -- we will win in November."
The Grind thinks that the Memorial Day recess couldn't have come at a better time. Have a happy and safe holiday.
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DAYAHEAD: Events making news Friday, Saturday and Sunday... The Senate gaveled into session at 8:45 a.m. ET with three votes scheduled before the chamber adjourns for the Memorial Day recess. The Senate approved Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit; Michael Hayden's nomination to lead the CIA; and Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne's (R) nomination to be secretary of Interior. The House is in recess.
Vice President Cheney delivers the commencement/commissioning address to graduates of the U.S. Naval Academy at 10 a.m. ET in Annapolis.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair visits Georgetown University at 11 a.m. ET to speak "on the challenges facing the international community in the 21st Century and on the policies and institutions needed to address these challenges."
President Bush has no public schedule today and heads to Camp David at 2:50 p.m. ET.
New York Gov. George Pataki (R) -- a potential candidate for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination -- visits Maquokete, Iowa, to attend a fundraiser for LaMetta Wynn, a candidate for state Senate.
Bush delivers the commencement address at 9 a.m. ET Saturday to graduates of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in West Point, New York.
Cheney delivers the commencement address at Natrona County High School on Saturday at 3 p.m. MT in Casper, Wyoming.
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tennessee) -- who is eyeing a run for the White House in 2008 -- heads to the important primary state of South Carolina on Saturday to meet with GOP activists and Congressional candidate Ralph Norman, tour a hospital and attend a festival. Frist will be in Rock Hill in the morning and Anderson that afternoon.
