More troops could be sent to Iraq soon, as civilians from

[yoda]

other countries are pulled out...

President George W. Bush on Tuesday evening pledged to stick to the June 30 timetable for restoring Iraqi sovereignty, insisting that "America's word once given can be relied upon, even in the toughest times".

The president's sombre-toned news conference at the White House was his first in more than a year since he made the case for war against Saddam Hussein.


"The consequence of failure in Iraq would be unthinkable."

In an effort to reassure an American public alarmed by the rising deathtoll and the grisly images being relayed back from Iraq, Mr Bush promised that if more US forces were needed he would send them. "If additional resources are needed I will provide them," he said.

Mr Bush's comments failed to convince several foreign governments whose nationals are working on peacekeeping and reconstruction projects in Iraq.

Russia said on Wednesday it would evacuate 553 of its own citizens and 263 from countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States working on Russian contracts in the country. The airlift is set to begin on Thursday.

Romano Prodi, European Commission president and a former Italian prime minister, said the situation in Iraq was "as bad as can be" and called for the release of four Italian hostages, while the Philippines said it was considering withdrawing a small force of peacekeepers and humanitarian workers.

Mr Bush acknowledged that the US has suffered a series of "tough weeks in Iraq" but said American forces will "finish the work of the fallen" and usher in a new era of freedom and democracy.

Mr Bush said America was "changing the world and the world [would] be a better place because of that."


"Saddam Hussein was a threat because he used WMD against his own people...He was a threat to the United States...He was a danger."

When questioned about his initial claim that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, the president said: "They can still be there....we'll find out the truth about them at some point in time...Of course I'm concerned we have not found weapons yet. But I do know Saddam is out of power...He was a threat to the United States...He was a danger."

The president directly challenged Moqtada al-Sadr, the radical Shia cleric who has launched a direct and bloody challenge to the US-led coalition in recent weeks, saying: "Al Sadr must answer the charges against him and disband his illegal militia." On Wednesday US troops together with tanks and artillery massed on the outskirts of Najaf, the holy city where Mr Sadr is thought to be holed-up.


"We're changing the world and the world will be a better place because of that."

Mr Bush sought to paint the al Sadr insurgency as a band of terrorists in the mould of the March 11 killers in Madrid, the bombers of the Bali nightclub and the people who perpetrated the attacks of September 11 2001.

Insurgents have taken some 40 foreign hostages from 12 countries during Iraq's recent violence, prompting several governments, including France and Germany, to advise their citizens to leave the war-torn region.

The kidnappings have marked a change in tactics by the guerrilla forces, which have largely targeted nationals of coalition members with smaller troop deployments and demanded their withdrawal.

Nine Americans, seven of them civilians, are believed to be among those missing. US officials in Washington said on Tuesday night that four bodies had been found outside Baghdad. The families of the civilians, all employees of Kellogg, Brown and Root, a Halliburton subsidiary, had been contacted. However, the identities of the dead had not been confirmed.

Italy reported that four of its citizens had gone missing on Tuesday, and France confirmed that a television journalist had been taken hostage.

Most countries with troops in Iraq have held firm against pressure to pull out. But if withdrawals spread, it could hamper coalition efforts to rebuild Iraq economically and politically.

Kofi Annan, United Nations secretary-general, said the deteriorating security situation was likely to prevent him from sending a "large UN team" to the country to help with the planned June 30 handover of power to Iraqis. Although a small UN team is in Iraq, Mr Annan said: "The kind of violence we are seeing on the ground is not conducive for that sort of political process and transition."

But Mr Bush on Tuesday evening made clear that he was determined to stick to the plan to transfer authority to the Iraqi people on June 30, despite the security concerns and the problems the coalition is facing in putting together a representative government which has legitimacy with the Iraqi people. "Iraq will hold elections no later than January of next year," he said.

"America's objective in Iraq is limited and it is firm. We seek an independent free and secure Iraq. If we stepped back, many Iraqis would feel their hopes betrayed."

[Guest]

"We're changing the world and the world will be a better place because of that."

Then, if the world does not want to be changed, it's none of our business.

[Lindaloo]

The world needs to be changed. I am tired of all the threats!

[j]

paola thinks we should do nothing Lin..so we can once again watch helplessly as thousands of our own people are murdered by one terrorist group or another.

He also thinks we should our turn backs on the rest of the world and let them fend for themselves.

I wonder who the first pleas for help will go to, when and if Italy suffers a day like 911?

[wx247]

The world needs to be changed. I am tired of all the threats!

Agreed. (Linda... don't tell anyone we agreed, okay? )

[Guest]

paola thinks we should do nothing Lin..so we can once again watch helplessly as thousands of our own people are murdered by one terrorist group or another.

He also thinks we should our turn backs on the rest of the world and let them fend for themselves.

I wonder who the first pleas for help will go to, when and if Italy suffers a day like 911?

War to Iraq, would it be started if 9/11 never happend? Yes. Because of Saddam? LOL!
So why claiming that war in Iraq will make the world a better place?
It made the world more dangerous, it gave terrorism a reason (and what reason) more.
Hopefully Italy will not have its 911, not because our and your troops are there, but because some intelligence is at work (that's the only way: police actions).
Spain did have its 911, again I'm asking you: shall they invade, bomb and give democracy to (please select one at your discretion) and stop war on terror?:
Morocco, Algeria, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria, Sudan, Tunisia, Egypt, Lebanon, Niger, etc...
Or shall they drop more bombs in Iraq, since Iraq is the mother of all evil on the Earth?
Mr Bush is so passionate when reading a speech, so blablablabing when directly answered and requested to say his own words... A president that is changing the world, that pretend to rule the world and has troubles in talking when directly addressed?
No kiddings?

[Lindaloo]

The world needs to be changed. I am tired of all the threats!

Agreed. (Linda... don't tell anyone we agreed, okay? )

[southerngale]

Paolo,

Ridding the world of terrorism WILL make the world a better place. Perhaps you'd feel differently if it was Italy that was attacked and you watched over 3000 Italians die at the hands of terrorists. Of course I pray that never happens.

[TexasStooge]

The world needs to be changed. I am tired of all the threats!

My point exactly.

[Guest]

Paolo,

Ridding the world of terrorism WILL make the world a better place. Perhaps you'd feel differently if it was Italy that was attacked and you watched over 3000 Italians die at the hands of terrorists. Of course I pray that never happens.

9/11 is a moral steam-roller.
Are we ridding the world of terrorism just making a war in Iraq? Who committed 9/11 has been captured? My answer is NO to both questions.
War on terror means searching them and taking them out from their holes,
not bombing a single country. None of the 9/11 criminals were from Iraq,
they belonged to a coalition of evil that is still alive and working!!!
What have we done to stop AlQaeda? A war in Iraq... Amazing!
I would prefere: we have been striked, we want revenge.
The whole world, not only me, not few hundreds of pacifists: THE WHOLE WORLD POPULATION say NO to a war that it's understood to increase danger, and still Mr Bush hide himself behind the same story, told for the countless time. The only difference is that now he told what we were expecting: more war, more troops.
But probably he's right. If 150.000 soldiers have no control at all of Iraq, all those fighting there must be terrorists, then Iraq is really that source of global terrorism...

[southerngale]

Paolo,

Ridding the world of terrorism WILL make the world a better place. Perhaps you'd feel differently if it was Italy that was attacked and you watched over 3000 Italians die at the hands of terrorists. Of course I pray that never happens.

9/11 is a moral steam-roller.
Are we ridding the world of terrorism just making a war in Iraq? Who committed 9/11 has been captured? My answer is NO to both questions.
War on terror means searching them and taking them out from their holes,
not bombing a single country. None of the 9/11 criminals were from Iraq,
they belonged to a coalition of evil that is still alive and working!!!
What have we done to stop AlQaeda? A war in Iraq... Amazing!
I would prefere: we have been striked, we want revenge.
The whole world, not only me, not few hundreds of pacifists: THE WHOLE WORLD POPULATION say NO to a war that it's understood to increase danger, and still Mr Bush hide himself behind the same story, told for the countless time. The only difference is that now he told what we were expecting: more war, more troops.
But probably he's right. If 150.000 soldiers have no control at all of Iraq, all those fighting there must be terrorists, then Iraq is really that source of global terrorism...

You just don't get it. The war in Iraq is part of The War on Terror. It's not the War on Terror and it's not separate from The War on Terror. It's a part of it. Saddam was a terrorist. Do you deny that? Iraq had/has WMD and have used them. Saddam is an evil man and we've captured him.
You make it sound like we're only at war in Iraq. That's far from the truth. We're still hunting down and capturing terrorists elsewhere. Al-qaeda may be alive and working but they've definitely been crippled. Nobody ever said this was going to be easy nor was it going to be fast. Some people seem to forget that.
Now what did you say Bush was hiding behind?

[Guest]

Paolo,

Ridding the world of terrorism WILL make the world a better place. Perhaps you'd feel differently if it was Italy that was attacked and you watched over 3000 Italians die at the hands of terrorists. Of course I pray that never happens.

9/11 is a moral steam-roller.
Are we ridding the world of terrorism just making a war in Iraq? Who committed 9/11 has been captured? My answer is NO to both questions.
War on terror means searching them and taking them out from their holes,
not bombing a single country. None of the 9/11 criminals were from Iraq,
they belonged to a coalition of evil that is still alive and working!!!
What have we done to stop AlQaeda? A war in Iraq... Amazing!
I would prefere: we have been striked, we want revenge.
The whole world, not only me, not few hundreds of pacifists: THE WHOLE WORLD POPULATION say NO to a war that it's understood to increase danger, and still Mr Bush hide himself behind the same story, told for the countless time. The only difference is that now he told what we were expecting: more war, more troops.
But probably he's right. If 150.000 soldiers have no control at all of Iraq, all those fighting there must be terrorists, then Iraq is really that source of global terrorism...

You just don't get it. The war in Iraq is part of The War on Terror. It's not the War on Terror and it's not separate from The War on Terror. It's a part of it. Saddam was a terrorist. Do you deny that? Iraq had/has WMD and have used them. Saddam is an evil man and we've captured him.
You make it sound like we're only at war in Iraq. That's far from the truth. We're still hunting down and capturing terrorists elsewhere. Al-qaeda may be alive and working but they've definitely been crippled. Nobody ever said this was going to be easy nor was it going to be fast. Some people seem to forget that.
Now what did you say Bush was hiding behind?

Mr Bush had, has and will have one target only in his mind: Iraq.
Can you really believe that after Iraq your army is going to march to other targets (that, in terms of terrorism, are more and more dangerous than Iraq)?

[GalvestonDuck]

What have we done to stop AlQaeda? A war in Iraq... Amazing!

Ya see, that's where I'm so confused. (Trust me...I'm in a world of confusion today -- seals, war on terror arguments, and a handful of other things.)

We are working to stop al-Qaeda. AND we are working to stop the terrorist networks in Iraq. The two may NOT be connected to each other and Iraq/SH may NOT be connected to 9/11. But that doesn't change the fact that he is a terrorist and has used WMD on his own people.

I keep hearing about the 9/11 commission and Bush-haters wanting to prove that George W was deficient in his duties and didn't do anything to stop 9/11. And yet, then they turn around and start fussing about the war in Iraq.

So, which is it? Do you want him to stop terrorism and try to keep another attack from happening on American soil? Or did you want him to just sit back, leave SH alone, and wait and watch while Saddam did something to us so that you could come back and say, "See!! You knew about the threat and you didn't stop it!"

You can't have it both ways.

[bfez1]

Headlines on our noon news:

4,000 Louisiana guardsmen are activated in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom

[Lindaloo]

Paolo we tried the diplomatic approach with Hussein during the Clinton Administration and failed. He was given chance after chance!! When we went to war against Hussein under the Bush Sr Administration we did what we said we were going to do and that was to get Hussein out of Kuwait.

We are still in Afghanistan fighting this war on terror.

As Kelly said, I pray that the killing of 3000 innocent civillians killed who merely got up and went to work that morning never happens in Italy. Or boarded an airliner for the first time to go on a class trip never happens in Italy. I could go on, but won't. Your logic and theories are nothing but hatred for anything American.

[Guest]

Ya see, that's where I'm so confused. (Trust me...I'm in a world of confusion today -- seals, war on terror arguments, and a handful of other things.)

We are working to stop al-Qaeda. AND we are working to stop the terrorist networks in Iraq. The two may NOT be connected to each other and Iraq/SH may NOT be connected to 9/11. But that doesn't change the fact that he is a terrorist and has used WMD on his own people.

I'm confused too, I thought war in Iraq was because of 9/11.
Isn't what Mr Bush told the world?

[southerngale]

Mr Bush had, has and will have one target only in his mind: Iraq.
Can you really believe that after Iraq your army is going to march to other targets (that, in terms of terrorism, are more and more dangerous than Iraq)?

Oh geez! That's far from the truth Paolo. Surely you know this.

Our military isn't JUST in Iraq now. To answer your question, yes.

[Lindaloo]

Biological weapons: 1995 Iraq declared under pressure from the international community they had 8,500 liters of anthrax. The UN estimates that Saddam Hussein could have produced 25,000 liters and Saddam Hussein has not accounted for even one teaspoonful of the deadly material. By the way, it was just a teaspoonful of anthrax that caused all of that trouble in the Post Office on the East Coast in 2001. Yet, we know that he has declared 8,500 liters of anthrax.

Second point, we know he has the will to use those weapons. He has done it before, on his own people. In fact, more than 250 Iraqi towns in 1987 and 1988 were the object of chemical attacks by Saddam Hussein, who used a combination of chemical weapons, cocktails they called them, including mixtures of mustard gas and VX gas. It makes it harder to trace exactly what he used. I have seen, as many of you have on TV, video footage of the Kurdish villages littered with the bodies of the victims of this massacre. So, we know he has them, and we know he will use them.
Third, in addition to genocide, which I have just described, Hussein’s regime is characterized by repression, torture, execution, mass murder, and systematic rape. Rape is used not only for intimidation, but also for sport.


Do I really need to answer that Paolo?

[Guest]

Paolo we tried the diplomatic approach with Hussein during the Clinton Administration and failed. He was given chance after chance!! When we went to war against Hussein under the Bush Sr Administration we did what we said we were going to do and that was to get Hussein out of Kuwait.

We are still in Afghanistan fighting this war on terror.

As Kelly said, I pray that the killing of 3000 innocent civillians killed who merely got up and went to work that morning never happens in Italy. Or boarded an airliner for the first time to go on a class trip never happens in Italy. I could go on, but won't. Your logic and theories are nothing but hatred for anything American.

I'm with you Linda, what happened on 9/11 is a crime that must be paid. Let's take those who committed that crime, me and the world are with you. Now please explain me again why war in Iraq, why bombing innocent people in stead of using serious methods (not the freakin' oil for food) to free them from Saddam.

By the way, during the first Gulf war, when it finished I still remember how many shiits have been killed by Saddam's baaths with Gen Shwarzkopf (or how his name is) approval. They tried a revolution against Saddam that time, but we left them alone and they've been massacrated. How would you expect they are considering us today? It's their country, they want to rule it.

[Lindaloo]

Regardless of what the liberal biased media tells you in your country Paolo we ridded the people of a tyrant.

And another thing, we did not bomb innocent people in Iraq. We are at war and accidents will happen.