President Bush Seeks Patience as Iraq War Enters Fifth Year

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• GWEN IFILL:

  The war in Iraq, four years later. And to Margaret Warner.

• MARGARET WARNER:

  President Bush stressed today that the war achieved two key missions: the removal of Saddam Hussein, and the beginning of a democratic government in Iraq.

  But the cost has been high: more than 3,200 Americans killed; another 23,000 wounded; and between 50,000 and half a million Iraqis dead. The financial toll stands at $360 billion, and rising.

  In the face of declining U.S. public support and growing opposition from the new democratic Congress, the president urged patience, especially for the latest military operation to secure Baghdad.

  GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States: I want to stress that this operation is still in the early stages. It's still in the beginning stages. Fewer than half of the troop reinforcements we are sending have arrived in Baghdad.

  The new strategy will need more time to take effect. And there will be good days, and there will be bad days ahead as the security plan unfolds.

  As Iraqis work to keep their commitments, we have important commitments of our own. Members of Congress are now considering an emergency war spending bill. They have a responsibility to ensure that this bill provides the funds and the flexibility that our troops need to accomplish their mission.

  They have a responsibility to pass a clean bill that does not use funding for our troops as leverage to get special interest spending for their districts. And they have a responsibility to get this bill to my desk without strings and without delay.

  It can be tempting to look at the challenges in Iraq and conclude our best option is to pack up and go home. That may be satisfying in the short run, but I believe the consequences for American security would be devastating.

  If American forces were to step back from Baghdad before it is more secure, a contagion of violence could spill out across the entire country. In time, this violence could engulf the region. The terrorists could emerge from the chaos with a safe haven in Iraq to replace the one they had in Afghanistan, which they used to plan the attacks of September the 11th, 2001.

  For the safety of the American people, we cannot allow this to happen.

  Prevailing in Iraq is not going to be easy. General Petraeus says that the environment in Iraq is the most challenging that he has seen in his more than 32 years of service. Four years after this war began, the fight is difficult, but it can be won. It will be won if we have the courage and resolve to see it through.