Bush Defends Iraq War on Fifth Anniversary

WASHINGTON — On the fifth anniversary of a war he started but won't be in office to end, President Bush said Wednesday the Iraq war "has been longer and harder and more costly than we anticipated, but it is a fight we must win."

But his defense of the war remains consistent: "Defeating this enemy in Iraq will make it less likely that we'll face the enemy here at home," he said in a Pentagon speech marking the anniversary.

Bush cited progress made since last year's troop surge but said "the gains we've made are fragile and reversible" in the face of a determined enemy.

And he acknowledged homefront divisions about it.

"Five years into this battle, there is an understandable debate over whether the war was worth fighting, whether the fight is worth winning, and whether we can win it," he said. "The answers are clear to me. ... Because we acted, the world is better and the United States of America is safer."

The anniversary brought protesters to Washington and criticism from Democrats, including the party's remaining presidential candidates.

In a Fayetteville, N.C., speech, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama recalled Bush's 2003 words about Iraqi weapons of mass destruction that never were found.

"This war has now lasted longer than World War I, World War II, or the Civil War. Nearly 4,000 Americans have given their lives. Thousands more have been wounded. Even under the best case scenarios, this war will cost American taxpayers well over a trillion dollars," Obama said. "And where are we for all of this sacrifice? We are less safe and less able to shape events abroad. We are divided at home, and our alliances around the world have been strained."

Obama, like opponent New York Sen. Hillary Clinton, has promised to begin troop withdrawals shortly after taking office.

"My plan to end this war will finally put pressure on Iraq's leaders to take responsibility for their future. Because we've learned that when we tell Iraq's leaders that we'll stay as long as it takes, they take as long as they want," Obama said.

Obama also reminded voters that Clinton voted for the resolution authorizing the invasion, legislation he opposed.

Clinton spokesman Howard Wolfson responded with criticism of Obama's efforts.

"We all know that he gave a speech in 2002 against the war and then he came to the Senate, had an opportunity to act on that speech, and took no action to end the war until he began running for president," Wolfson said.

Bush's speech was devoid of his usual talk about how the troop surge has provided time for Iraqi political reconciliation, needed to ensure the nation can govern and protect itself. Spokeswoman Dana Perino said it's a concept Bush still endorses though the process has taken longer than expected.

"Politics is alive and well in Iraq," Perino said, adding that Iraq is "actually trying to function as a democracy."

Politics, she said, is not always pretty.

"And I think some people who are throwing stones ought to look at, you know, the primary system in our own country, especially on the Democratic side, where you have two states ... Florida and Michigan where they're figuring out whether or not to seat those delegates," Perino said. "Politics happens, and that's what happens in the United States and it's certainly happening in Iraq."

According to Pentagon figures, 3,988 U.S. troops have died and 29,451 have been wounded in Iraq. There are now about 154,000 U.S. troops in Iraq, according to U.S. Central Command.

Democrats used the anniversary to criticize Bush and his handling of the war and to talk of ways a Democratic president would end the conflict.

"I would attempt to create the circumstances under which the government of Iraq would ask us to leave," Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., told reporters. "The United States does not belong as an occupying force in that part of the world."

Webb said the troop surge has not succeeded because larger goals of political reconciliation among rival Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds have not kept pace with the security gains.

"Controlling the tactical battle space is not the same thing as accomplishing strategic objectives," said Webb, a former secretary of the Navy who served as a Marine during the Vietnam War. "The military has done its job wherever it's been, but we have not seen the other pieces fall into place."

Webb conceded that there's little Democrats can do in Congress between now and election day that might significantly alter the coarse of the war.

"What we can do in terms of this policy is really around the edges," he said.

Webb said that he and other Democrats, however, are poised to challenge the Bush administration over two pending negotiations with the Iraqi government.

The first is over a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), which would set up the legal structure under which U.S. forces operate in Iraq. SOFA accords typically protect U.S. troops in foreign countries where they are based, and Webb said the effort to negotiate such an agreement signals administration intent to maintain permanent bases in Iraq.

The administration is also negotiating what it calls a Strategic Framework Agreement, which would lay out obligations and rights between the two countries during times of war or threat. Webb said this agreement, likely to be completed this summer, would amount to a treaty and, as such, should be subject to a Senate vote.

To date, however, the administration has treated the negotiations over the agreement as an executive matter beyond the reach of congressional overview.

Cox Washington Correspondent Bob Deans contributed to this report.