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US President George W. Bush and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on Tuesday made separate statements that US troops won't leave Iraq before achieving what they called "a complete victory."
During a tour in Texas, Bush said it will be a "terrible mistake" to pull US forces out of Iraq right now and the US troop levels in that country will be based upon the anti-insurgency capability of Iraqi troops.
He said he will rely on the advice of military commanders to make decisions about troop levels.
"If they (the commanders) tell me the Iraqis are ready to take more and more responsibility and that we'll be able to bring some Americans home, I will do that," Bush said.
He stressed that he is "interested in winning" in Iraq.
"I want to defeat the terrorists. And I want our troops to come home," said Bush. "But I don't want them to come home without having achieved victory. We've got a strategy for victory."
"We've heard some people say pull them out right now. That's a huge mistake. It'd be a terrible mistake. It sends a bad message to our troops. And it sends a bad message to our enemy. And it sends a bad message to the Iraqis," he said.
He was echoed by Rumsfeld, who told a Pentagon press conference in Washington DC that "quitting the war" will allow insurgents to prevail and put the United States "at still greater risk."
"Quitting is not an exit strategy. It would be a formula for putting American people at still greater risk and an invitation for more terrorist violence," he said.
Rumsfeld also pointed out several indicators of military progress in Iraq, including the transfer of some 29 military bases from US forces to the Iraqis, and the increasing number of operational Iraqi army headquarters and battalions.
According to Rumsfeld, the Iraqi army now has eight division and 33 brigade headquarters in operation, compared with none in July 2004, while the number of Iraqi army's combat battalions has grown to 95, compared to five in August 2004.
Both Bush and Rumsfeld made the statements in advance of a policy speech of the president Wednesday at the US Naval Academy in Virginia, which is expected to outline his strategy for giving Iraqi forces more responsibility in security affairs.
(Xinhua News Agency November 30, 2005)
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