Bush Still Optimistic About Iraq
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While a new intelligence estimate offers a gloomy assessment of Iraq's future, President Bush talks instead about brighter days ahead under a new prime minister and the promise of free elections. "Freedom is on the march," he told a campaign rally Thursday.
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President Bush is driving his re-election campaign toward next week&#39;s finish line, with a series of more optimistic speeches that Republicans hope will rise above some of the hostility of this campaign season.
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U.S. President George W. Bush said on Wednesday he saw signs of progress in Iraq on both the military and political fronts and again held out the possibility of a reduction in U.S. troop levels.
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FORT JACKSON, South Carolina  - Issuing an upbeat new assessment of an unpopular war in Iraq, President George W. Bush hailed reduced violence and declining U.S. casualties as signs that a troop buildup was working.
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US President George W. Bush said he looked forward to welcoming Prime Minister Iyad Allawi of Iraq next week, amid election-year worries in the United States about deadly chaos in that war-torn country.
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Polls show Iraqis optimistic for longer term, worried now.
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President Bush said Saturday he understands that Americans are disturbed by persistent scenes of bloodshed and turmoil nearly four years after the war began, but promised he is helping to put Iraq "on a solid path to liberty and democracy."
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President Bush has confidence in Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, despite accusations that he botched the Iraq war and earlier efforts by top Bush aides to replace him, the White House said on Sunday.
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President Bush said on Thursday that  he and Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi would "stay the course"  in Iraq and insisted national elections will be held there in  January despite a worsening insurgency.
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President Bush said on Thursday freedom was on the march in Iraq even as a U.S. intelligence report depicted a bleak outlook for the country's future.
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U.S. President George W. Bush said on Wednesday he saw signs of progress in Iraq and the possibility of a troop reduction as staunch ally Australia pledged not to withdraw its soldiers.
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President insists he has winning strategy in Iraq even as report says Iraqi government has failed to stem violence and bring about reconciliation.
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President Bush reported progress in Iraq Friday, after hearing Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki brief him on steps being taken by the government in Baghdad. "We appreciate the fact that he's beginning to meet the benchmarks that he set out for his people," Bush said.
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Despite the obstacles, the president said progress has been made in Iraq this year and expressed continued confidence that the oil-rich nation will be transformed into a democratic beacon in the Middle East.
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President Bush called Sunday's elections in Iraq a success and promised the United States will continue trying to prepare Iraqis to secure their own country.
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President Bush said Friday that if Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry &quot;had his way Saddam Hussein would still be in power&quot; and criticized his rival&#39;s stand on the war.
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While seeking a new course in Iraq, President Bush has not changed his tone about the stakes involved in the war, the importance of victory or his definition of success.