Bush defends Iraq record amid protests, five years on
 US President George W. Bush will on Wednesday defend his decision to invade Iraq five years ago, vowing no retreat from a conflict he says now promises a major victory in the "war on terror."
Nearly 4,000 US soldiers have died in the conflict, and although the ailing economy is increasingly distracting Americans, widespread anti-war protests are expected Wednesday and the issue remains a top concern for US political leaders.
Bush leaves office in January, bequeathing to his successor the intractable military and political stalemate that started with the first US bombings launched on March 19, 2003, in the United States and March 20 in Baghdad.
In a speech to the Pentagon Wednesday, the president will acknowledge the war has "come at a high cost in lives and treasure," but will defend both the decision to invade and to boost the number of US troops there last year.
"The answers are clear to me: removing Saddam Hussein from power was the right decision -- and this is a fight America can and must win," he will say.
According to pre-released extracts, Bush will argue the so-called troop "surge" was in response to growing violence that "could eventually have reached genocidal levels," and insist it has succeeded in turning the tide.
More than that, he will say that it "opened the door to a major strategic victory in the broader war on terror," making Iraq a place where Arabs fight alongside Americans to drive Al-Qaeda out.
He will warn against a rapid withdrawal of troops, something both Hilary Clinton and Barack Obama, the Democratic contenders for the White House, have pledged to do. The Republican nominee, John McCain, strongly backs the surge.
Bringing the 155,000 US troops in Iraq home too soon would create a vacuum, let "the terrorists and extremists step in ... establish safe havens... and use them to spread chaos and carnage," Bush will say, adding it could also embolden countries such as Iran.
Bush will also thank the US soldiers who have fought in Iraq, where he has dispatched Vice President Dick Cheney this week.
While the president is defending his strategy, however, anti-war activists have pledged to ensure that the anniversary of "Operation Iraqi Freedom" is accompanied by as much noise and fuss as they can organize.
"The war was based on lies. One million Iraqis have died, five million have been made into refugees, tens of thousands of US soldiers and marines have been killed or wounded," said Brian Becker with one well-known protest group, the ANSWER Coalition.
Anti-war groups have planned hundreds of events during the week as well as larger rallies in Washington, New York, Miami, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco to demand an immediate withdrawal of US troops and mourn those killed in the conflict.
Although attendance at anti-war demonstrations has declined in recent years, organizers said they were confident of attracting large crowds.
"This war needs to end and it needs to end now," Leslie Cagan, national coordinator of United for Peace and Justice, told AFP. "I think people are looking for new ways to express their opposition."
Moveon.org planned more than 850 candlelight vigils nationwide, including one outside the White House, the group said.
Demonstrators in the US capital planned to "blockade" the Internal Revenue Service, while in New York, protesters from the Granny Peace Brigade were to hold a "knit-in" at the Times Square military recruitment center.
A rally was planned in Chicago, and in Louisville, Kentucky, protestors will read aloud the names of some of the troops and Iraqi civilians killed.
US national security spokesman Gordon Johndroe, meanwhile, said Bush would hold a series of meetings next week with State Department officials and military advisors, as he crafts his Iraq policy during his final months in office.
In April, the US leader has meetings planned with Washington's ambassador in Iraq Ryan Crocker, and the top US military commander there, General David Petraeus.
This video is from CNN's Newsroom, broadcast March 19, 2008.
| 
