Bush: Iraq Enemy Far From Being Defeated

WASHINGTON Dec 14, 2006 (AP)— President Bush on Wednesday said the enemy in Iraq is "far from being defeated," but he vowed not to be rushed into adjusting his strategy and gave little indication that he intends to veer sharply from the direction his war policies have taken.

"We're not going to give up. The stakes are too high and the consequences too grave," Bush said after meeting at the Pentagon with the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and Rumsfeld's designated successor, Robert Gates.

There are competing schools of thought inside the military and the administration on whether a short-term increase in U.S. troop strength in Iraq possibly in the range of 20,000 would be enough to quell the sectarian warfare in Baghdad.

After a third straight day of soliciting war advice from top military and diplomatic officials, Bush gave no clue as to whether he will include that in his forthcoming plan. Some generals believe it would be too little, too late, in a war that already has claimed more than 2,900 U.S. lives.

Bush said he was considering a wide range of options he has heard during a week of consultations, while rejecting ideas "that would lead to defeat." He said the rejected ideas included "leaving before the job is done, ideas such as not helping this (Iraqi) government" to function and gain Iraqis' confidence.

Read the rest at ABC News

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