Bush rallies US troops ahead of crucial Iraq vote

US President George Bush sought to rally troops in Iraq ahead of Saturday’s vote on the new constitution, saying the “enemy understands that a free Iraq would be a blow to their vision”.

“We put in motion something that can’t be stopped, and that is the march of freedom,” Bush said in a video conference with soldiers from the US Army’s 42nd Infantry Division, based in Tikrit.

Bush spoke two days before Iraqis vote on a new constitution. A compromise endorsed on Wednesday by the Iraqi parliament made key concessions to minority Sunni Arabs, increasing the chances that the document will be approved.

Passage of the constitution would open the way to national elections in December.

“We’re never going to back down. We’re never going to give in. We’ll never accept anything less than total victory,” Bush said.

The president engaged in a question and answer session with 10 soldiers, who he saw on a large video screen set up in a room of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, next to the White House.

“Do the Iraqis want to fight, and are they capable of fighting?” he asked. He was told they were.

While polls show declining support for the war, Bush told the soldiers: “You’ve got tremendous support” among Americans.

“We need to stay on the offence, and we need to stay on the offence with well-trained Iraqi forces,” Bush said.

“You’ve got to know, the American people are standing strong with you,” he added.

Captain David Williams told Bush that voter registration was up 17% in north-central Iraq, meaning 400,000 new voters. “The Iraqi people are ready and eager to vote in this referendum,” he said.

“The mission you are on is vital to achieving peace and protecting America,” Bush said. He said that insurgents seeking to disrupt the elections “stand for a vision that doesn’t believe in freedom”.

“We are facing an enemy that is ruthless and cold blooded,” Bush said.