Bush, Blair optimistic mission in Iraq can succeed

By Mike McCarthy Dec 7, 2006, 22:46 GMT

Washington - US President George W Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair were confident that their mission in Iraq will succeed despite a bleak assessment from a prominent US panel that warned Iraq is sliding toward complete chaos.

Bush and Blair acknowledged after a meeting at the White House Thursday that the current policy was not working and they needed to find a new approach toward resolving the conflict. But the two men believe there is still time to turn around the deteriorating situation in Iraq.

'This is a mission we have to succeed in and we can succeed in,' Blair said.

Bush and Blair met to discuss strategy in Iraq and the broader Middle East one day after the Iraq Study Group, a panel of experts co-chaired by former US secretary of state James Baker III and former congressman Lee Hamilton, released a report saying the consequences of failing in Iraq 'are severe.'

The panel's highly anticipated recommendations were largely viewed as 'a way forward' for Bush and Blair to revise their strategy and rescue the effort in Iraq. The two leaders did not specifically endorse specific suggestions in the report, but welcomed the suggestions it contained.

'There's a lot of very important things in the report that we ought to seriously consider,' Bush said. But he cautioned that it was unlikely that his administration would accept all of the ideas.

Bush also emphasized that his administration was conducting an internal review to come up with a new strategy and said he would outline it in a speech in the coming weeks.

Blair and Bush admitted the situation in Iraq was poor. Bush said 'it's bad.'

'It's a tough time,' Bush said. 'And it's a difficult moment for America and Great Britain. And the task before us is daunting.'

The Baker-Hamilton commission has called for the withdrawal of US combat troops in early 2008 if the security environment improves and urges the Pentagon to embed more American soldiers with Iraqi units.

Britain has about 7,000 troops in Iraq, the largest number outside the 140,000 American soldiers. Britain has announced that it expects to lower its contingency but Bush has remained steadfast that US troops will not leave Iraq until the mission is complete.

Blair, who has faced tough criticism at home for allying with Bush and participating in the March 2003 invasion, said believed the goal of securing Iraq and establishing a democracy there remains a 'noble mission' while borrowing language from the Iraq Study Group.

'It is important now we concentrate on the elements that are necessary to make sure that we succeed - because the consequences of failure are severe,' Blair said.

The report also urged Bush to open dialogue with Syria and Iran to enlist their help in Iraq, but Bush stood by his position that he will not do so until Iran halts uranium enrichment and Syria stops undermining the Lebanese government. Iran and Syria are suspected of trying to destabilize Iraq to weaken US influence in the region.

'There should be no mistake in anybody's mind: These countries understand our position,' Bush said.

Blair, who has spoken to the Syrians, also seemed sceptical about the benefits of engaging Iran, which is accused of arming groups in southern Iraq and fomenting terrorism there.

'The issue, for me, is not a question of being unwilling to sit down with people or not, but the basis upon which we discuss Iraq has got to be ... a basis where we are all standing up for the right principles,' Blair said.

Bush and Blair said more needed to be done to strengthen the Iraqi government led by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, but did not address the report's recommendation that a warning must by issued to the Iraq that if they do not take more steps to confront the sectarian violence in Iraq that it would risk losing US military and economic support.