Bush in plea for patience as Democrats call time on Iraq
The war has stretched longer, with higher costs, than the White House ever predicted. On the fourth anniversary of the day Bush directed the invasion to begin, the president made a televised statement from the White House Roosevelt Room to defend continued US involvement.
He said his plan to send 21,500 additional US troops to secure Baghdad and Iraq’s troubled Anbar Province “will need more time to take effect”, especially since fewer than half of the troop reinforcements have arrived in the capital. Mr Bush added: “There will be good days and bad days ahead as the security plan unfolds.”
