World News Bush continues to defend war in Iraq

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CLEVELAND (AP) - Beginning the fourth year of an unpopular war, President George W. Bush defended his Iraq record March 20.

On the third anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, the president said he could "understand people being disheartened" but told Americans to look beyond the bloodshed and see signs of progress.

More than 2,300 Americans have died in the war in Iraq. The number of Iraqi dead remains unknown. A morgue in Baghdad has cataloged at least 24,000 dead in the Baghdad area alone, almost all killed in violence.

Bush also went on to say he doesn't believe Iraq is in a civil war. "The Iraqis had a chance to fall apart and they didn't," he said.

The president was asked why he deemed Iraq - which turned out not to have weapons of mass destruction - as enough of a threat three years ago to launch an invasion, in contrast to nuclear-ambitious Iran today.

"One difference was that, in Iraq, there was a series of unanimous (U.N. Security Council) resolutions that basically held the Iraqi government to account, which Saddam Hussein ignored," Bush said.

米軍のイラク駐留継続へ

イラク戦争開始から3周年を迎えた20日、ブッシュ米大統領はイラク政策について演説を行なった。

Shukan ST: March 31, 2006

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