Bush determined to persevere in Iraq four years after invasion

US President George Bush pleaded for more patience in the Iraq war today, saying success is possible but “will take months, not days or weeks".

He spoke as Democrats pushed for an end to the war now entering its fifth year.

The war has stretched longer, with higher costs, that 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 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".

He added: “There will be good days and bad days ahead as the security plan unfolds.”

Democrats are bringing up this week in the House of Representatives a war spending bill that would effectively require the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq by the autumn of 2008, on top of providing funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan for the year.

The White House has been pushing aggressively against this legislation, and Bush did so again today.

“It can be tempting to look at the challenges in Iraq and conclude our best option is to pack up and go home,” he said. “That may be satisfying in the short run. But I believe the consequences for America’s security would be devastating.”

He said he had received news of positive signs during a briefing on the war with his National Security Council, and during a closed-circuit television conference call with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki from Baghdad.