Chinese Class: Learn Chinese online - Bush stresses need to succeed in Iraq

WORLD / Middle East

Bush stresses need to succeed in Iraq

(AP)
Updated: 2007-01-24 08:45

President Bush speaks at the White House in Washington in this, Nov. 6,
2002, file photo. The president will deliver his first State of the Union
address to a Democratic-controlled Congress, Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2007,
trying to balance a rebuke of his Iraq policy already promised by
lawmakers with a high-profile invitation to cooperate on vexing domestic
problems. [AP]

WASHINGTON - US President Bush, confronting a skeptical Congress and
American public, struck back Tuesday at opponents of sending more troops
to the war. He asserted that "America must not fail in Iraq" and insisted
his plan offered the best chance of success.

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Facing a major political showdown over his strategy, Bush said in remarks
prepared for his State of the Union address that "the consequences of
failure would be grievous and far reaching." Democrats - and even some
Republicans - scoffed at his policy.

"They don't have a plan," said freshman Sen. Jim Webb, picked by the
Democrats to deliver their response to Bush. "What they have put on the
table is more a tactical adjustment." Webb, a former Vietnam veteran,
opposed Bush's invasion of Iraq.

Republican Sen. Norm Coleman (news, bio, voting record) of Minnesota,
also took issue with Bush. "I can't tell you what the path to success is,
but it's not what the president has put on the table."

In his address, Bush sought to revive his troubled presidency with
proposals to expand health insurance coverage and slash gasoline
consumption by 20 percent in 10 years. But the war was issue No. 1.

Bush was hampered by his lowest approval ratings in polls as he prepared
to speak before the first Democratic House and Senate in 12 years.

"Congress has changed but our responsibilities have not," the president
said. "We are not the first to come here with government divided and
uncertainty in the air. Like many before us, we can work through our
differences and achieve big things for the American people."

The White House released excerpts in advance of Bush's prime-time address
to the nation. His speech came as key Republicans joined Democrats in
drafting resolutions of opposition to the plans he announced two weeks
ago to send an additional 21,500 troops to Iraq.

Bush said he had reviewed the decision with military commanders and had
considered every possible approach. "In the end I chose this course of
action because it provides the best chance of success," he said. "Many in
this chamber understand that America must not fail in Iraq - because you
understand that the consequences of failure would be grievous and far
reaching."

Despite widespread opposition to his policies, Bush said that "both
parties and both branches should work in close consultation."

The war in Iraq - nearly four years old with more than 3,060 US deaths -
remains the top issue in the polls and dominates Washington's political
debate. The president's speech came just three days after 25 US troops
were killed, the deadliest day in two years for the US military in Iraq.

With public support for the war at a record low, Americans overwhelmingly
oppose his decision to send additional troops. Even some of Bush's most
loyal Republicans allies have abandoned him to stand with Democrats in
Congress on resolutions opposing the buildup. Sen. John Warner (news,
bio, voting record), R-Va., who was chairman of the Senate Armed Services
Committee until the Democratic takeover, worked with other lawmakers
Tuesday on a resolution voicing disapproval.

In his speech, Bush said that the war on terror "is a generational
struggle that will continue long after you and I have turned our duties
over to others. That is why it is important to work together so our
nation can see this great effort through."

Bush was not calling for timetables on troop withdrawals or tying US
support to better performance by the Iraqi government.

"We're not doing ultimatums," presidential spokesman Tony Snow said.

Unlike the friendly Republican-dominated Congress of the past six years,
Bush faced a dramatically different audience this year after the
Democratic takeover of the House and Senate. To be seated over his
shoulder was House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (news, bio, voting record), the
Democratic leader who has called Bush dangerous and incompetent. A dozen
members of the House and Senate have announced they are running for
president or are considered possible contenders.

"Our citizens don't much care which side of the aisle we sit on - as long
as we are willing to cross that aisle when there is work to be done,"
said Bush, who for six years ignored Democrats' demands to be included in
decisions.

The administration sought to make Bush's energy initiatives - in
particular a 20 percent cut in gasoline usage by 2017 - an eye-catching
centerpiece of his address, the one major element not revealed until
hours before the speech. "It is in our vital interest to diversify
America's energy supply, and the way forward is through technology," Bush
said.

The cut would be achieved primarily through a sharp escalation in the
amount of ethanol and other alternative fuels that the government
mandates must be blended into the fuel supply. The rest would come from
raising fuel economy standards for passenger cars, a plan that Bush has
proposed in the past but failed to win from Congress.

Acknowledging that some would say such a drastic increase in alternative
fuels is unrealistic, the White House argued that the new mandate - which
would need approval from Congress - would spur investments in the
industry and give technological research a boost.

While setting cutback goals, the president spurned appeals from
environmentalists and some major corporations to impose mandatory
ceilings on US greenhouse gas emissions in hopes of slowing climate
change.

The other major initiative in Bush's speech called for making
employer-financed health care benefits taxable income after a deduction
of $15,000 for families and $7,500 for individuals. The White House said
80 percent of workers with health insurance through their jobs would see
a tax cut as a result of the change. But about 20 percent would see a tax
increase - those workers whose health insurance cost more than the
standard deduction.

The White House argues that "unfair subsidies" in the tax code make it
harder for many Americans to afford health insurance.

Another change would take some federal money now going to hospitals and
other facilities and give it to states for programs to reduce the number
of uninsured.

Rep. Pete Stark, D-Calif., chairman of a key health subcommittee in the
House, said he would not even consider holding hearings on the plan.

Other proposals in Bush's speech concerned:

-Education: He would allow poor children in struggling schools to
transfer to private schools - a move sure to be derided by critics. The
No Child Left Behind law allows children in the worst schools to move to
better public schools, but not private ones.

-Immigration: He wants an overhaul that would toughen border security and
create a temporary worker program allowing employers to hire guest
workers for jobs Americans have not taken.

Chinese Class

Monday, March 24, 2008

Learn Chinese online - Bush stresses need to succeed in Iraq

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