Bush to Hold News Conference on Iraq
WASHINGTON Oct 25, 2006 (AP)— With Iraq dominating the political debate, President Bush scheduled a news conference Wednesday to update the nation on the war. The White House said he would not announce any increase or decrease in troop levels.
Bush's meeting with reporters comes less than two weeks before midterm elections where Republicans are anxious about losing control of the House or Senate or both. Iraq has emerged as the top issue and polls show that most Americans are unhappy with the president's strategy.
October has been the deadliest month this year for American forces. The military Tuesday announced the deaths of two more U.S. Marines, a sailor and a soldier. Since the start of the war, more than 2,800 U.S. service members have died in Iraq. There are currently 144,000 U.S. forces in Iraq.
"Obviously there is a lot going on on the security and political situation in Iraq and it's important that the president also update the American people on the state of the conflict," White House deputy press secretary Dana Perino said.
She said Bush would not announce a change of troop levels. "This is more of a discussion, an explanation" following on briefings this week by U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalizad, the top U.S. envoy in Iraq; Gen. George W. Casey Jr., the top U.S. commander in Iraq, and Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
It was Bush's second news conference in two weeks. On Oct. 11, he met with reporters in the Rose Garden after North Korea conducted a nuclear weapons test. At that session, the president said he was not backing down from his assertion three years ago that "we will not tolerate nuclear weapons in North Korea."
Worries about North Korea have been overtaken by anxiety about Iraq and a deadly spiral of violence. Top U.S. military and political leaders have tried to reassure Americans with a series of news conferences in Washington and Baghdad.
On Tuesday, American officials unveiled a timeline for Iraq's Shiite-led government to take specific steps to calm the bloodshed in Baghdad and said more U.S. troops might be needed for the job.
Source: www.checkfreshnews.com
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