Bush won't change mind on Iraq

US President George Bush suggested today that anti-war protesters such as Cindy Sheehan, who want the troops brought home immediately, do not represent the views of most US military families and are “advocating a policy that would weaken the United States".

In brief remarks outside the exclusive resort where he is holidaying, Bush gave no indication that he would change his mind and meet with Sheehan, who lost a son in Iraq and has emerged as a harsh critic of the war there, when he returns to his Texas ranch tomorrow.

Sheehan has been maintaining a vigil outside the ranch, a demonstration that has been joined by more and more other anti-war protesters.

Bush said that two high-ranking members of his staff have already met with her.

Bush said most military families have a different viewpoint than Sheehan. “She doesn’t represent the view of a lot of families,” he told reporters.

On Iraq, Bush said that a democratic constitution “is going to be an important change in the broader Middle East.”

Reaching an accord on a constitution after years of dictatorship is not easy, Bush said.

He spoke after the head of the committee drafting Iraq’s constitution said that three days are not enough to win over the minority Sunni Arabs, and the document they rejected may ultimately have to be approved by parliament as is and submitted to the people in a referendum.

Iraqi leaders completed a draft last night and submitted it to parliament by the midnight deadline, but delayed a vote for three days to give them time to convince Sunni Arab negotiators to accept it.

Of the continuing lack of consensus, Bush said, “The Iraqi people are working hard to reach a consensus on the constitution.”

“The fact that they are even working on a constitution is vastly different from working under the hand of a dictator,” Bush said, speaking outside the Tamarack Resort, in this western state.

Bush was asked about the possibility that objections to the constitution as it now stands from the Sunnis, the party of deposed leader Saddam Hussein, could trigger a civil war.

“The Sunnis have got to make a choice – do they want to live in a society that’s free?” Bush said.

He said he thought that most mothers, regardless of their religion, would prefer to live in peace rather than violence.

He congratulated Israeli President Ariel Sharon on the completion of the withdrawal of settlers from the Gaza Strip.

And Bush praised Sharon for making “a tough decision” and said the next step would be to establish a working government there.

Bush, spending a day at the resort with Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne, a Republican, said he was getting updates on the Iraqi constitutional process from Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

He said Rice had assured him that the rights of women were being protected. “Democracy is unfolding,” the president said. “We cannot tolerate the status quo.”

On Sheehan, the grieving mother who has camped near his ranch since Aug. 6, the president said he strongly supports her right to protest. “She expressed her opinion. I disagree with it,” Bush said.

“Those who advocate the immediate withdrawal ... not only from Iraq but from the Middle East are advocating a policy that would weaken the US,” he said.

Bush has scheduled more than two hours to meet with family members of slain soldiers tomorrow at the Mountain Home Air Force Base near Boise.

Recent polls have shown growing public dissatisfaction with the president’s handling of the war in Iraq in the face of a persistent insurgency and the mounting US death toll.