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Bush aims to inspire troops, public
By ADAM C. SMITH and PAUL DE LA GARZA TAMPA -- With coalition forces pressing toward the most dangerous phase of the week-old war in Iraq, President Bush came to MacDill Air Force Base on Wednesday to offer reassurance and tamp down expectations for a quick and easy victory.
He added: "I can assure you, and I assure the long-suffering people of Iraq, there will be a day of reckoning for the Iraqi regime, and that day is drawing near." The president, wearing a navy blue suit, frequently drew cheers, "Hoo-ahs!" and one shouted, "God bless you, sir!" But he spoke mostly in a tone reflecting the gravity of what's happening 6,000 miles away. At one point, the president appeared to choke up after speaking of the character of the "new generation of American armed forces."
"Millions of Americans are proud of our military, and so am I. I am honored to be commander in chief," he said, pausing and tightening his mouth for a moment. During his three-hour visit to U.S. Central Command, Bush also received classified briefings on Afghanistan and Iraq. He and first lady Laura Bush also enjoyed a lunch of steak and potatoes with about 120 enlisted men and women from the various units at MacDill, catered by Outback Steakhouse. "Please, be seated," the commander in chief implored at lunch. "How's everybody doing?" The president invoked God while talking about coalition casualties. "People across this country are praying," he said. "They are praying that they hope those families and loved ones will find comfort and grace in their sorrow. We pray that God will bless and receive each of the fallen, and we thank God that liberty found such brave defenders." In 1991, the first President Bush remained in Washington for two weeks after the Persian Gulf War began. His son is raising his profile earlier to reassure an anxious country.
His first presidential trip since the war began followed a weekend dominated by news of coalition casualties and prisoners of war, followed by second-guessing of military strategy by retired generals. Polls show American support for the war still strong, but public perceptions of how successfully it has been waged dropped significantly in recent days. Coalition forces are making steady progress and "Day by day, Saddam Hussein is losing his grip on Iraq," Bush declared. Still, the president appeared to be preparing the country to expect more casualties. "Every victory in this campaign, and every sacrifice, serves the purpose of defending innocent lives, in America and across the world, from the weapons of terror," Bush said. "We will not wait to meet this danger, with firefighters and police and doctors on the streets of our own cities." Faced with strong opposition around the world, the president made a point of praising the role of other countries in Iraq. Representatives of the 48 countries supporting the United States work out of the so-called Coalition Village on the grounds of Central Command. He specifically highlighted the roles of British, Australian, Polish, Danish, Czech and Slovak forces.
Though repeatedly stressing the progress and early successes, the president made a last-minute change to the speech, cutting a reference to being "ahead of schedule." "The path we are taking is not easy. And it may be long," Bush said. "Yet we know our destination. We will stay on the path -- mile by mile -- all the way to Baghdad, and all the way to victory." The guests, including local dignitaries like Tampa Mayor Dick Greco, Mayor-elect Pam Iorio and St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker, filled a hangar at MacDill draped with camouflage netting and a huge American flag. They waited for hours for the arrival of Air Force One and were entertained by two country music performers, Toby Keith and Darryl Worley. "This big dog will fight when you rattle his cage. You'll be sorry you messed with the U S of A," sang Keith, who sported a big, white cowboy hat and sunglasses and said antiwar protesters sound "anti-American." The president is a "huge fan" of Keith's, according to the singer's Web site, and Bush told his aides that he wanted Keith to sing at Wednesday's event. Bush, joined onstage by brother Gov. Jeb Bush and Cathy Franks, wife of Gen. Tommy R. Franks, referred several times to helping the "good and decent" Iraqi people long oppressed by Saddam Hussein. "Protecting innocent civilians is a central commitment of our war plan," he said on a day that Iraqi officials claimed 15 civilians were killed by a cruise missile. "Our enemy in this war is the Iraqi regime, not the people who have suffered under it." At the same time, the president attacked Iraqi "war criminals" fighting America: "In the early stages of this war, the world is getting a clearer view of the Iraqi regime and the evil at its heart. In the ranks of that regime are men whose idea of courage is to brutalize unarmed prisoners. They wage attacks while posing as civilians. They use real civilians as human shields. They pretend to surrender, then fire upon those who show them mercy."
-- Staff writers Tamara Lush and Babita Persaud contributed to this report.
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